Cole Kmet got a call 20 minutes before the first Bears practice of training camp began. It was his agent and he had good news. Kmet was getting a contract extension from GM Ryan Poles.
The first emotion Kmet felt: relief.
“The last few days have been pretty hectic kind of figuring out, not really knowing where it was going to go,” Kmet said.
With life changing money on the line, Kmet said it was hard to focus on the task at hand, especially because he had to field phone calls all the time as negotiations heated up. Things were even more stressful for Kmet, because he felt contract negotiations were the one scenario where he didn’t have control of his own destiny.
“When I’m out on the field I can control what’s going on, because I’m in control. Like, I’ve got to go cut off this defensive end or I’ve got to go win this route or whatever it may be. I’m in control of that. But when you’re in these negotiation talks, everything is done at that point. There wasn’t play going on. There was nothing I could go out and do. You’re just kind of waiting and seeing.
“I can’t control Ryan’s thoughts on what he truly thinks about me. He has an opinion one way or the other, and you just kind of sit there hoping. It’s kind of this controlless feeling. But I’m glad it was able to work out.”
It worked out to the tune of $50 million over four years for the Bears tight end. Not bad for a guy who needed to prove himself to a new regime. Poles was not the GM who drafted Kmet. That was Ryan Pace.
Chicago Bears
“It’s pretty cool,” Kmet said. “It’s a good feeling, and just kind of a testament to all of the work I’ve put in and just what I’ve been doing the last three years.
“Honored to be here. Honored that they felt I was a guy worthy of this.”
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