The Bears have signed right tackle Darnell Wright to a four-year extension worth $116 million with $93 million guaranteed, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Tuesday. With an annual average of $29 million, he will now become the highest-paid right tackle in NFL history.
Wright, 24, has seen steady improvement each year in the NFL since the Bears used the No. 10 overall pick on him in the 2023 NFL Draft. Most notably, he ended 2025 with an 85.0 PFN OL Impact Score, ranking him No. 7 among all offensive
tackles and No. 4 among right tackles. He earned second-team All-Pro recognition for his performance last year, which marked his third season in the league.
Coming off a strong season which saw the Bears’ offensive line jump from the No. 24 ranking in PFN Team OL Impact Scoring in 2024 all the way to No. 3 in 2025, general manager Ryan Poles saw firsthand just how important having a strong offensive line was to their offense improving as a whole last season. Wright was their second-best offensive lineman behind Protector of the Year left guard Joe Thuney, but given each player’s age, the former is certainly the more valuable long-term asset for the organization.
The Bears picked up the fifth-year option on Wright’s contract in April, and they’ve now locked him down beyond the end of his rookie deal. As a result of the deal, Chicago has Wright under contract through the end of the 2031 season.
