While some NFL players complain about having to play under contracts that pay them $28 million for just one season, Bears QB Tyson has gone viral for his reaction to signing a two-year, $10 million extension with the Bears.
On Wednesday, Bagent, 25, broke down in tears when describing what it means to him to sign one of the more lucrative contracts for a backup quarterback in the NFL.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but my dad, he’s my right-hand man,” Bagent told reporters while struggling with his emotions. “He didn’t even have running water until he was in high school. There’s definitely a lot of things — and people — that I could certainly help with this gift I’ve been blessed with. Little things like that, I don’t really even know anybody back at home that doesn’t need money. It feels good. It’s certainly a weight off my shoulders, my family’s shoulders. It definitely means a lot.”
Bagent signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent out of Division II Shepherd University. He has served as the Bears’ backup QB since 2023.
During his time with Chicago, he has developed a reputation as one of the hardest workers on the team. A quality that has made him the type of building block the franchise wants to keep around.
“Tyson epitomizes what we are building at the Chicago Bears,” head coach Ben Johnson said Wednesday. “We are constructing a team that is driven by belief and built by hard work, and there is no better example of that than Tyson Bagent.”
Bagent joins Texans QB Davis Mills as the only two backups to receive contract extensions before the end of their rookie deals, a fact that was not lost on Bagent.
“It means the world,” Bagent said. “That is the best compliment I can think of receiving. It means the world. It allows me to come into the office with as much confidence as I could possibly have. As long as I can feel like that and continue to work as hard as I can — the harder I work, the luckier I get. Just trying to keep that thing going.”
