Chicago Bears restructure Garrett Bradbury’s contract

TL;DR

The Chicago Bears restructured Garrett Bradbury's contract, converting $1M in incentives to guaranteed salary, resulting in a $4.7M cap hit for 2026 with $3.7M guaranteed. This move potentially clears cap space for upcoming signings or future deals.

Key points

Chicago Bears restructured Garrett Bradbury's contract
Converted $1M in incentives to guaranteed salary
Bradbury's 2026 cap hit is now $4.7M with $3.7M guaranteed
Previous cap hit was $5.7M
Move may be linked to upcoming signings or cap space creation

Chicago Bears

Jul 28, 2025; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots center Garrett Bradbury (65) heads to the practice fields for training camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images Early this morning, Spotrac reportedthat the Chicago Bears restructured the contract of center Garrett Bradbury, converting $1M in incentives into guaranteed salary, meaning he’s now due $4.7M in 2026, with $3.7M guaranteed. His previous 2026 cap hit was $5.7M. I’m not exactly sure how the numbers work, but I was told by someone who does know that this move made a $1M incentive that was counting against the cap no longer count against the cap. Why did the Bears and Bradbury make this deal now? Right before the NFL Draft, the Bears cleared over $10M in salary cap space for this season by restructuring Cole Kmet and Jonah Jackson. That seemingly cleared most of the way for the rookie class to be signed. Maybe they were a few bucks short? Or could it be that a minor free agent deal is nearing for a veteran player? Or maybe it’s the first in a string of moves to create a bunch of 2026 cap space for a major free agent? In February, estimated that the Bears could create over $80M in cap space by doing several simple restructures. Then again, teams always need cap space to make moves during the season, and this Bradbury move could be as simple as that. The most likely scenario is that this is a big nothingburger, but speculation is rampant on social media, so why not bring that discussion over here to WCG?

Q&A

What are the financial implications of Garrett Bradbury's contract restructure?

Garrett Bradbury's contract restructure lowers his cap hit from $5.7M to $4.7M for 2026, with $3.7M now guaranteed.

Why did the Chicago Bears restructure Garrett Bradbury's contract now?

The Bears likely restructured Bradbury's contract to create additional salary cap space ahead of the NFL Draft and possible veteran signings.

How much cap space did the Chicago Bears clear with this restructure?

The restructure of Garrett Bradbury's contract cleared $1M in cap space, contributing to the over $10M cleared earlier this season.