Caleb Williams asked Bears to pay him as an LLC
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.
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.
