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Caleb Williams made some unprecedented asks in his rookie contract.
Caleb Williams has finally signed his rookie contract with the Chicago Bears. What took so long? Williams’ representatives were reportedly making some unprecedented requests for his contract before he put his name on the dotted line.
Williams was still participating in rookie and team activities, but he hadn’t signed his four-year, $39 million deal with the Bears until earlier this week. According to Pro Football Talk, there were differences in the language of Williams’ contract, including one odd request I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player make.
In negotiating his rookie deal, Bears QB Caleb Williams explored creative tax strategies, from being paid as an LLC to having payments treated as a forgivable loan. https://t.co/hzrn5Gsr44
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 17, 2024
Per Mike Florio, Williams requested that his contract be paid in the form of an LLC, or to make his contract a forgivable loan. What both of these would accomplish, you might ask? They would keep him from paying taxes to the state of Illinois. In Illinois, LLCs have zero income tax filing requirements, and to make his deal a forgivable loan, he wouldn’t have to pay taxes on his deal until the loan was forgiven, “up to 10 years in the future” according to Florio.
The Bears took both requests to the NFL, because there’s nothing in the rules that says this can’t happen. The NFL disagreed, saying William’s money can’t go to a business entity other than the player, per Florio. There was no reason given for why the league axed the idea of a forgivable loan.
Honestly, I would ask for the same thing. Taxes stink, and if there’s any way to legally avoid said taxes I would find any way to. This is pretty genius by Williams’ camp, just to even float that possibility. No other player has asked for this before, but I bet you more will start to ask after Williams did.
That being said, it would be incredibly funny to hear a Sunday Night Football intro for a Bears game, and Williams says “Caleb Williams, LLC.”
