Devin Hester is ridiculous

The Bears have confirmed today that Devin Hester, the Returner-cum-Receiver responsible for roughly all of Chicago's non-offensive scoring (so roughly all of Chicago's scoring full stop then...) last season, has got his contract.

Hester held out of Training Camp for all of a day in protest at his base salary of just $445,000 in the upcoming season, but he has 30m reasons to be happy now, after signing a new four year deal with $15m in guarantees.

Hester's value was difficult to determine, and initial reports from ESPN indicate that the Bears have wisely got the deal done while Hester has little leverage as a Wide Receiver. If he achieves a certain level of production at the position, he will be rewarded, but the team has largely avoided paying an exorbitant amount for someone who is unproven as a receiver. Also according to ESPN, Hester will be due a whopping $10m roster bonus in 2012 (the final year of the deal) if he meets certain performance-based criteria.

As we say, if Hester has a good year as the no.1 receiver this year, the Bears will consider the contract a steal. If not, they haven't lost, as his value as a pure returner is probably in line with the basic salaries over the life of the deal.

The contract is the final piece of a puzzle that the Bears have managed to successfully complete in the last few years, and ties up almost every indespensible player on the team for the next 5 years.