On the cusp of a contract year, Bears defensive end Akiem Hicks announced last month that he was seeking new representation. The search is over, according to Sports Business Journal’s Liz Mullen, who tweets that Hicks has signed with Drew Rosenhaus and Ryan Matha of Rosenhaus Sports.
Turning to Rosenhaus, the most famous agent in football, certainly shouldn’t hurt Hicks’ cause as he vies for a major payday. Hicks made his own case for a raise on the field last year, his first in Chicago, when he performed like one of the NFL’s premier defensive linemen. After signing a two-year, $10MM contract in free agency last offseason, the former Saint and Patriot led all Bears D-linemen in snaps (930) and piled up 54 tackles, seven sacks and two forced fumbles across 16 starts. In addition to recording excellent traditional numbers, Hicks ranked as Pro Football Focus’ 15th-best interior defender last season.
Now that Hicks has representation again, it won’t be surprising if general manager Ryan Pace attempts to lock him up to an extension this summer. The Bears have no shortage of cap space going forward, though a notable chunk of that would go to Hicks if the two sides were to hammer out a new deal.
As I noted last week when examining a potential extension for Hicks, a pact worth eight figures per year looks like a reasonable goal at the moment. If the Bears aren’t convinced Hicks is worth that type of long-term investment now and he ends up posting another huge season, the team could keep him via the franchise tag. However, tagging an end next year will cost roughly $17MM, which could be too pricey in Hicks’ case.