Sources: Darnell Wright, Bears reach 4-year, $116M extension

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears rewarded right tackle Darnell Wright with a historic, four-year contract extension Tuesday.

Sources told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that the extension is for $116 million and includes $93M guaranteed, making Wright the highest-paid right tackle in NFL history. Among offensive tackles, Wright's $29 million-per-year average trails only the $30.1M that Laremy Tunsil received annually as part of an extension he signed with the Washington Commanders in March.

"As we continue to build our team and develop our culture, we are excited that Darnell will remain a cornerstone of our franchise as we work toward creating sustained success," Bears general manager Ryan Poles said in a statement. "Darnell has consistently elevated his play and the performance of his teammates since joining our team, and we look forward to his continued growth and leadership for years to come."

Wright was selected 10th in the 2023 NFL draft out of Tennessee, becoming the first first-round pick of Poles. The 24-year-old has started all 49 games he has played in and has missed only two games in three seasons.

Despite playing through an elbow injury suffered in Week 3, Wright earned second-team All-Pro honors and ranked fourth in pass block win rate (95.2%) last season. He also logged the fifth-highest snap count on offense (93.07%).

The next frontier for Wright? Consistency.

"We all see the flashes and the stacks of plays that he puts together, and it's really impressive," Poles previously said. "Can he be consistent day in and day out, that's the key part for Darnell."

The Bears had picked up Wright's fifth-year option in May. They had expressed a desire to keep Wright in the fold throughout the offseason and signed him to the extension after six training camp practices.

Last week, Wright said his focus wasn't on his contract extension because he expected to be with the organization for the long haul.

"Obviously, I know I'll be here for a long time, hopefully my whole career," Wright said Friday. "Those things kind of just handle themselves, but I mean, I just have to stay focused on the main things. That's just getting better, consistency every day."

Wright was part of an offensive line that helped quarterback Caleb Williams cut down on sacks last season. Williams went from taking a league-high 68 sacks as a rookie to 24 in 2025. The Bears ranked third with the fewest sacks allowed per pass and fielded the NFL's No. 3 rushing offense and 10th-best passing attack in 2025.

Much of that has to do with where the Bears are focusing their efforts up front.

"When you watch us on offense, we're certainly a little bit more right-handed than left-handed and that is with him in mind," coach Ben Johnson said in June. "I think he's one of those tackles that's a powerful player and can displace guys off the line of scrimmage. So when you have that available, it's such a luxury that you really want to sync into it and he's proven that he can do that and carry the load, if you will, a lot of times in the running game on his back. Very pleased with that."br/]