Ex-Bears tight end John Gilmore collected a $1 million signing bonus when he signed his three-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday morning, according to PewterReport.com.
Gilmore’s deal is worth $3 million with a base salary of $750,000 this season, $1 million in 2009 and $1.25 million in 2010.
The Bears were offering Gilmore the minimum salary each season in contract negotiations. That would have resulted in base salaries of $730,000, $745,000 and $760,000 over the course of the deal, a difference of $235,000.
