Some good stuff from 670 The Score's Blog. Dan Bernstein outlines some particulars regarding the Julius Peppers deal and the man responsible for constructing it. For those who are worried about Julius taking the money and taking plays off, you might want to read this:

One of the Bears’ savviest-ever moves was the hiring of former agent Cliff Stein in 2002.  Three years ago, he was put in charge of all player-contract negotiations as Senior Director of Football Administration and General Counsel.  Since then, the team has balanced nicely their major expenditures and cap flexibility, maintaining the likelihood that their highest-paid players would be the best performers and allowing for relatively painless departures if the team feels otherwise.

So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the recent deal signed by Julius Peppers allows the Bears to pull the plug, essentially, after only one season of guaranteed money.  Mike Florio of PFT did a nice job of ferreting out the details as he followed up on some work by Peter King, revealing that Peppers gets $20 MM  up front and guaranteed.  The “guaranteed” dollars for the next two years — totalling $22 MM — are guaranteed for injury only up to a certain date each off-season, allowing the Bears to cut Peppers if they feel his skills are not worthy.

The Angelo/Smith management or the new group can decide on Peppers’s future after 2010 and each year thereafter, and Peppers also has reason to bust his butt, rather than rest on a pile of cash.

Peppers has been called out for playing hard in his contract seasons, and this is good news for Bears fans, because essentially Peppers will be in a contract year every year with Chicago.