While it’s not unprecedented for a backup quarterback to be paid an average annual salary of $5 million per year, what is unprecedented is when that backup quarterback has the backstory of Chicago Bears signal-caller Tyson Bagent.
On August 20, the Bears handed Tyson Bagent a well-deserved two-year, $10 million contract extension, leaving no doubt as to whether it would be Bagent or veteran Case Keenum serving as the backup quarterback to Caleb Williams. Keenum will certainly make Chicago’s 53-man roster. His experience is too valuable in a young quarterback room. But if disaster strikes and Caleb Williams is forced to miss any time this year, it will be Bagent who is called upon.
This, in and of itself, is a remarkable story. Consider, Bagent was a highly-touted high school player in the state of West Virginia, but didn’t receive a single scholarship offer from any FBS programs. Only two FCS schools came knocking at his door, so instead, Bagent opted to remain close to home and play his college ball at Shepherd University, where he set multiple Division II records in his four seasons there.
Perhaps predictably, Bagent would go unselected in the 2023 NFL Draft, but earned a training camp invite from the Chicago Bears. Against all odds, the Kelly Leak lookalike made the Bears 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie, and even ended up starting four games for an injured Justin Fields during his first season in the NFL.
Each of the following two seasons, there’s been a sense that soon enough, the clock would strike midnight on the undrafted Division II star whose father is a world-champion arm wrestler, but as of today, the countdown has stopped. Bagent will remain a Chicago Bear and continue living out his dream in a city that he says, “has become a second home.”
Tyson Bagent Breaks Down While Talking About Contract Extension
At some point in their life, every kid who loves sports dreams of being a professional athlete. Now sure, for the last two years, Tyson Bagent has lived that dream. He’s already taken more snaps on a professional football field than 99.9% of people who will ever live and breathe on this planet. But for those two seasons, Bagent wasn’t even making $1 million per year.
Now, as his dream continues to be realized and life-altering money is heading his way, it was just too much for the 25-year-old to process.
Bears See Tremendous Value in Tyson Bagent
With the announcement of Tyson Bagent’s well-deserved two-year extension, numerous quotes from members of the Chicago Bears organization came out, and it’s a testament to all of the work Bagent has put in, and just how much value he has within the Bears locker room.
“I’ve really been blown away by his approach from the spring to start of camp to where we are now,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said, per Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “He and I are probably wired very similar. When he enters a room, he’s usually all business. To get him to crack a smile sometimes is a challenge, which we like to do.. He’s always locked in. I can appreciate that about him. I can relate.”
Bears general manager Ryan Poles, who is at least partially responsible for identifying the upside of QB2, said that “there isn’t a harder worker on this football team than Tyson Bagent.”
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