The Bears took a big step Tuesday toward making sure Brian Urlacher will be at Soldier Field every Sunday during football season for a long, long time.
As expected this off-season, the Bears and Urlacher have agreed in principle to a long-term contract extension intended to keep the all-pro linebacker here for the duration of his career, according to a club source.
Urlacher and Bears general manager Jerry Angelo are expected to make the announcement official at a news conference Wednesday at Halas Hall. The deal is believed to approach in length and value the one signed by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, the player to whom Urlacher’s skills often are compared.
Lewis signed a seven-year, $50 million extension last year with a whopping signing bonus of $19 million.
This off-season, the Bills signed linebacker Takeo Spikes for six years at $32 million with $11 million guaranteed, and the Dolphins locked up Zach Thomas with a 6-year, $33.75 million deal with a $10.5 million bonus.
Urlacher, one of the biggest bargains in sports last season with a $450,000 salary, had two years remaining on a contract scheduled to pay him $2 million next season and $2.1 million in 2004.
The Bears took advantage of being $2.5 million below the $75 million salary cap, money expected to go toward Urlacher’s pro-rated bonus.
