Chicago Bears: 5 must-know facts regarding Roquan Smith’s holdout

Bears are in rare territory

Over recent years, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) has been very adamant about how owners go about putting together rookie contracts. In the past, these contracts have seemingly appeared to be fine, yet when you were to look at all of the encompassing language, that wasn’t the case.

Contracts have been fairly one-sided in terms of equality, and rookies are taken advantage of more times than you might think. It is for this reason why the NFLPA has taken such a strong approach lately. They even launched an investigation last year in order to figure out if the CBA was being toyed with by the owners.

So, why are the Bears different? Why are they in such rare territory? Per Dan Wiederer of The Chicago Tribune:

"“Seven other teams have executed contracts that include clauses protecting a first-round draft pick’s guaranteed money if he is suspended for an illegal hit. Only four of 32 teams have executed contracts with the broader behavioral protections that Smith seeks, one source said.”"

Only four teams — four — have accomplished what the Bears are trying to do.

The majority of teams have been able to come to terms with their rookies on some kind of compromise. I have a feeling that since the NFLPA is so heavily involved in this issue that those teams gave their rookies a pretty fair deal, all things considered.

But, the Bears appear to be sticking to their guns. This could end up getting even uglier.