…it gives him the Eli Manning/Phillip Rivers money he’s been looking for. He’s going to be 30 when the extension ends, so chances are, he’s angling for one last, big, mega-deal that will ensure he ends his career as a Bear.

But, maybe even more importantly, as long as the Bears keep him happy and there is a hard salary cap in the NFL (the first part will come in especially handy if there is an uncapped year), the extension makes him near invulnerable to a trade and is a show of loyalty from the franchise to Cutler, things that were important to Cutler that resulted in the Denver trade.

And even if Cutler ends up out of Chicago by then, he’ll still get his $20m in guaranteed money from the Bears, which, while it’s a bad thing for fans and for the finances of the organization, is a good thing for Cutler. However, the guaranteed money is about half of what Matt Stafford got in Detroit, without a three-and-a-half year track record in the NFL.

“If he hits me I’ll sue”