Jaylon Johnson, Bears Reach 4-Year Contract Worth Reported $76M After Franchise Tag

Jaylon Johnson will remain a franchise cornerstone for the Chicago Bears for more than just the upcoming season.

Chicago and the cornerback agreed to a new four-year contract on Thursday. NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported the deal is worth $76 million.

This comes after the Bears announced on March 5 they placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on the cornerback, which Spotrac noted was worth $19.8 million. That it was a non-exclusive tag meant Johnson could have signed elsewhere, although Chicago could have either matched the offer or declined it and received two first-round draft picks from the team that added him.

Given how expensive signing Johnson would have been for another team with the two first-round draft picks included on top of the deal, placing the tag on Johnson all but ensured he would play in Chicago for at least 2024.

However, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported the Bears were still working on a long-term deal with the cornerback at the time that would keep him in the Windy City beyond just the upcoming campaign.

That deal came with this move, which is quite the juxtaposition from October when the team gave him permission to seek a trade in October.

Even amid all that uncertainty, Johnson told ESPN's Courtney Cronin in December he "would love to stay" with the Bears, adding "I feel like we're building something special, too, especially the guys in the locker room. It's something that I don't think I can get anywhere else."

Now he can continue that building with more efforts like his 2023 one.

Johnson was named to the Associated Press All-Pro Second Team and the Pro Bowl last season behind 36 tackles, 10 passes defended, one forced fumble and four interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Seasons like that are surely what the Bears had in mind when they selected him with a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

Chicago plays in the NFC North, which is a division that features game-changing wide receivers such as Justin Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jordan Addison.

Cornerback is more important than ever, and it has one of the league's best in Johnson. He could be a building block for seasons to come seeing how he will be just 25 years old throughout the 2024 campaign, which makes this a key signing for Chicago as it attempts to construct a consistent playoff contender.