Inside Jaylon Johnson’s Extension: Contract Details, Cap Impact, Value, More

Jaylon Johnson has has talked the talk and walked the wa🐷lk. And now, he is getting paid to do it again.

The first splash move of the Chicago Bears offseason came with the extension of their star cornerback. Now that the Jaylon Johnson contract extension is officially officiꦍal, I wanted to dive into ๊some of the deets.

Jaylon Johnson, the player

Unlike when we did this exercise the last time the Bears signed a high-profile extension with Montez Sweat, we already know what Jaylon Johnson brings to the table. Johnson is a lockdown man-to-man corner who plays a confident and fearless brand of football. In addition to being sticky in coverage with a propensity for pass breakups, Johnson added ball-hawking to the skills section of his résumé with four interceptions last year — including his first-ever pick-six.

Jaylon’s career accolades:

53 games, 53 starts – Being a Day 1 starter as a rookie and carrying it through four years and getting a second contract is a testament to his excellence and perseverance.

5 interceptions, 41 passes defended, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 defensive touchdown, 4 tackles-for-loss. No sacks or quarterback hits on the record for JJ. I don’t imagine that’ll change anytime soon because blitzing your best cover corner would be foolish. But seeing Jaylon put a tally in those categories would be fun to see.

In addition to extending a quality ball player, getting Jaylon Johnson on a new deal means the Bears are keeping a team leader, defensive captain, and their 2022 Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner. It isn’t often when players check all the boxes you want from someone whose contract you’re trying to extend. Quality ballplayer? Check. Homegrown talent? Double check. Team leader? Triple check. What else could you want?

: “We’re excited to have Jaylon here for the next four years. He’s an integral part of our defense and his leadership will help our team continue to ascent.”

With that being said, I do have one concern…

Injuries have been a bug-a-boo for Jaylon Johnson dating back to his collegꦛe years. And over the years, they have conspired to keep him from playing a full season. Johnson missed three games in 2023 and six games in 2022. There were two more games missed in 2021 and another three that came during his r♎ookie year in 2020.

Jaylon’s injury history doesn’t bug me as much as I know it bothers others. The way I see it, the Bears have done so well in drafting and developing other corners around him that this team can deal with it if he has to miss a few games here and there. Look at this youth in the secondary:

The are good 𝙖𝙣𝙙 young in the secondary:

CB Jaylon Johnson
CB Kyler Gordon
SS Jaquan Brisker
CB Tyrique Stevenson

Everyone in this group is 24 or younger right now. — Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears)

I didn’t even include Terell Smith, who was battling Tyrique Stevenson for a starting job in training camp and also fits the bill as being 24 or younger. All of this is to say that it matters so much to keep drafting and developing depth. If the Poles administration keeps hitting on picks, then Jaylon Johnson missing time won’t be as big of a deal as it might otherwise be without useful depth.

Contract details

Pro Football Focus analyst this time of year as contract details are flying here, there, and everywhere. Here’s the scoop on the financial front from Brad:

Straight cash, homie: Jaylon Johnson’s extension comes with a $44 million two-year cash flow. That is a few million more than he would’ve gotten had he played on the Franchise Tag in 2024 and 2025.

Another tag-related nugget: By signing Johnson to an extension, the Bears save $6.8 million in

Getting $28 million in total first-year cash is a fun nugget. JJ might be footing the bill on some team dinners once that first direct deposit hits.

Other financial numbers: $20 million signing bonus, $100,000 workout bonus in 2024. If you gave me a $100K workout bonus, I’d consider working out.

Bears salary cap update: Per OverTheCap.com’s calculations, the Bears are estimated to be $63,077,957 under the 2024 NFL salary cap. That is the fourth-most cap space in the league entering this offseason. From a more functional standpoint, the team’s Effective Cap Space number (which bakes in projected costs of 2024 NFL Draft picks) is $51,092,344. That represents the fifth most space in the league.

Jaylon Johnson Highlights

Oh, baby! We’ve got highlights:

CB1 is locked IN. 🐻⬇️

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears)

What does this mean for the rest of the offseason?

First, I want to point out how it was refreshing to see the Bears work through a contract situation without it getting too messy. We sure as heck have come a long way from Johnson requesting a trade on the eve of the NFL’s 2023 Trade Deadline in a last-ditch attempt to force some action in extension talks. For me, the Bears’ handling of the situation is a sign that GM Ryan Poles learned from his missteps with the Roquan Smith situation. My whole “development isn’t linear” schtick doesn’t apply only to ballplayers.

As for what the Johnson extension signals, I think we can take it as a sign that the Ryan Poles-led front office will reward its homegrown players. Even the ones who weren’t brought in by this regime. Additionally, I see this as a sign that the Bears are willing (and able) to sign players at the top of the market. Although, I also see this extension as a sign that this team isn’t going to be market-setters. The Jaylon Johnson extension lands in the top 10 in his position group, just like deals for Montez Sweat and Cole Kmet.

Looking ahead, I think the Bears still have wiggle room under the cap to add another impact defender. I imagine Head Coach Matt Eberflus enters this offseason feeling empowered. And why wouldn’t he feel that way? Since the Poles-Eberflus regime began, this franchise has used five Day 2 picks on defensive players, prioritized signing defensive standouts in each of the first two free agency classes, signed two sizable free agent defensive linemen (Yannick Ngakoue, Justin Jones), swung an impact trade for a defensive end when that didn’t work, and extended Jaylon Johnson.

With that being said, perhaps they won’t be shopping for a top-shelf item because of all the money they’re already been pouring into the defense. Since the start of the 2023 league year, the Bears have made huge investments along the defensive line (Sweat), at linebacker (Tremaine Edmunds), and now at cornerback (with Jaylon Johnson). And let’s not forget that Poles’ first big splash would’ve been a big deal for defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi — until he failed his physical.

Ideally, Chicago would balance those big contracts out by bargain hunting in free agency or drafting positions of need such as defensiv꧟e end, 3-technique defensive tackle, and safety. Otherwise, it is probably time to start spending money on the offensive side of the ball. That feels like something long overdue.