Fundamentally it's a little difficult to compare the two deals both because of what we believe AJs' asking price was and because of how Long's deal is structured. It's also not as if Pace didn't attempt to come to terms with AJ and his agent either. They just couldn't agree is all.
Looking at Kyle's contract we can see that his new money doesn't kick in until 2018. This year he's still working under his rookie contract which pays him only $1.537 mil and in 2017 he'll be working under his 5th year option at $8.821 mil. That 5th year effectively doubles the value of his rookie deal. Then from 2018 through 2021 he's getting $40 mil with $30 mil guaranteed. So much of this new money is being deferred until 2018 and beyond when the salary cap will have escalated even more. Comparatively speaking he'll become cheaper as time passes.
With AJ any new contract other than his tag would have begun in 2016 not 2018. I also believe that if AJ would have been willing to settle for a 4 year $40 mil deal with $30 mil guaranteed they may have come to an agreement. However, based on what most believe AJ was asking for a contract commensurate with what top 5 WRs had gotten of which the guaranteed money alone would have been $40 mil or more. We don't know what the Bears offered but it's probably safe to say the total deal was probably more than the $40 mil Kyle Long is getting.
JJ has an interesting take on the vote and probably has some better insights on that than any of us would. Even if as a group they realize the two sides couldn't come to an agreement so far the message they may be sending seems to be telling both AJ and Pace they'd like them to get a deal done and for AJ to remain a Bear for the foreseeable future. IMHO it's like OK you got Kyle taken care of now take care of AJ too. I could see and understand their message that way.
Could it simply be the players respect AJ and view him as a leader? On the O side of the ball he's one of only three veteran Bears: Cutler, Long and AJ. I know we all want to believe Long is the leader bc of how active his Twitter feed is and how open he is to the media but that doesn't necessarily mean he's the most respected offensive Bear.
Just because fans take issue with a player doesn't mean the players in the locker room do. Fans often pretend to know a ton when they don't really know shit about what is happening in the LR and in Halas Hall.
It could be belli but because he's usually so soft spoken maybe they're trying draw him out a bit and ask him to show more leadership. You're right when you say it's him, Long and Cutler that are the mainstay vets.
I am not up to date on when the Bears and AJ can sign a deal, can someone more up to date on contacts tell me.
I believe that they can sign a new contract at any time during the season but the compensation under the FT will govern the current season for that player.
