The Bears bet $5.5 million Saturday that receiver Marty Booker was not a one-year wonder. He signed a seven-year contract that could be worth $28 million if fulfilled. It includes a signing bonus of $5.5 million that prevents Booker from becoming a free agent after this season.
Booker was rewarded for his breakout season when he caught 100 passes and broke the Bears’ single-season receiving record held for 36 years by Johnny Morris.
The team’s third receiver behind Marcus Robinson and Eddie Kennison only two years ago, Booker emerged as quarterback Jim Miller’s favorite target after Robinson was injured and Kennison was released.
Booker’s three-touchdown game against Tampa Bay was one of the biggest surprises in the Bears’ surprising 13-3 season. As a third-year player on his original contract, Booker was a restricted free agent who signed a one-year, $1.2 million qualifying offer after the season with the intention of getting a long-term deal before training camp.
General manager Jerry Angelo has been aggressive in identifying and signing core players before they go on the free-agent market. When he let starting left tackle Blake Brockermeyer go on the market in February, he had no intention of bringing him back. Instead, the Bears made Boston College tackle Marc Colombo their No. 1 draft choice and Mississippi tackle Terrence Metcalf their No. 3 draft choice in April. Brockermeyer signed with the Denver Broncos on Saturday.
The Bears now have 20 of 22 projected starters under contract through at least the 2003 season.
