[CBFF] [Chicago Sun-Times Bears] Bears get refund from Brown deal

[Tom Shannon]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/958611,CST-SPT-bear20.article

Bears get refund from Brown deal

Injury history cuts safety's '08 base salary to $950K


May 20, 2008

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BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs at suntimes.com

It's debatable whether the Bears have protection on the roster in the event veteran safety
Mike Brown is injured again.

There is no question, however, that the team has some protection in terms of finances after
reworking Brown's contract.

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Bears' Mike Brown
(Jean Lachat/Sun-Times file)

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Brown has missed 43 regular-season games over the last four seasons -- including 15 last year
after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the opener at San Diego --
and will have to be healthy to earn the $2.44 million that was supposed to be his base salary
this season.

Entering the final year of the five-year, $17 million extension he signed in July 2003, Brown
now has a base salary of $950,000 for 2008. The $1.49 million difference can be attained in an
unlikely-to-be-earned incentive that is tied to an unknown playing-time lever. If Brown is
injured before the season starts, the contract includes a split that would reduce his pay to
$320,000.

General manager Jerry Angelo said last year that the team was considering adjusting Brown's
contract. But in a feel-good mode as defending NFC champs, the Bears showed respect for the
team leader and captain by not addressing his contract after the Super Bowl season, in which
he was shut down after the sixth game with a torn Lisfranc ligament in his right foot.

In 2005, Brown battled a badly pulled calf muscle at the end of the season, and a torn
Achilles tendon in Week 2 ended his '04 season.

The good news is Brown is fully recovered from his knee injury and was running with the first
team at free safety Monday in the Bears' first organized team activity.

''It starts with Mike Brown,'' coach Lovie Smith said last week on the team's Web site. ''I'm
very pleased with what we've seen from him in the offseason.''

The Bears wound up changing their starting safety combination six times last season. Adam
Archuleta suffered a broken hand, then was benched, and Brandon McGowan, currently penciled in
as the starter at strong safety, also missed two games because of injury.

For a guy who has missed so much time, it's hard to say Brown is the glue that keeps the group
intact, but when he's healthy, that is the case. The intangibles he provides are so strong,
the team could not cut ties with him, despite concerns that multiple leg injuries have slowed
the 30-year-old. The last four seasons have been in stark contrast to the first four of
Brown's career, in which he did not miss a game.

Also in the mix are Danieal Manning, hard-hitting Kevin Payne and rookie Craig Steltz, a
fourth-round pick. That should be ample depth, but the Bears thought they were dealing from
strength in numbers when they traded Chris Harris to the Carolina Panthers last summer. Harris
would have come in handy around Week 2.

NOTE: Running back Cedric Benson's initial court date has been rescheduled for June 30,
according to his attorney, Sam Bassett. Benson's first date was to be Monday in Texas, where
he faces Class B misdemeanor charges of drunken boating and resisting arrest. Benson, who has
proclaimed his innocence, will not be required to appear at the next court date.

•  •  Assistant director of pro personnel Morocco Brown has left the Bears to take a
job as director of pro personnel with the Washington Redskins. The Bears can promote assistant
pro scout Kevin Turks into Brown's position or look outside the organization.