The payoff
On Mack’s 128th day as a Bear, he will play in a playoff game at Soldier Field. The Eagles are coming to town. Chicago is having realistic visions of a deep postseason run. But Mack is keeping his feet and his mind in the present, careful not to get swept up in the excitement.
“Can’t ever get too high,” he says. “Don’t ever get too low.”
The Soldier Field crowd will have a much harder time with that directive Sunday.
Bears fans have waited eight years to experience playoff football again. And now they’ll do so with No. 52 jerseys scattered across the stands, a city relishing a dream season in which the Bears’ biggest star wasn’t even on the roster when training camp ended.
With the adrenaline rush of Mack’s first four months as a Bear still surging, it’s important to remember that the $141 million contract he received on Labor Day weekend runs through the 2024 season. Yes, Chicago, your Khalil Mack experience has just begun.
Back in September, at his introductory news conference in Lake Forest, Mack was asked what he found most alluring about joining the Bears.
“To be wanted,” he said. “Yeah. That’s all it takes. You know what I mean? It’s just that feeling that they’re excited to have you.”
It was an odd sentiment to consider. Who wouldn’t want one of the game’s most feared pass rushers, talented and low maintenance and right in his prime? As Mack’s contract holdout in Oakland dragged on this summer, general managers across the league were lining up to see whether he might become available. Many were shooed away by then-Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie who, early on, rebuffed Mack trade inquiries with straightforward texts.
“Over my dead body.”
Around the league, Mack was coveted. Badly. But he was left dealing with the Raiders. And ultimately, owner Mark Davis and coach Jon Gruden chose not to keep him, unwilling to give him the the contract he felt he deserved.
So yes, Mack felt unwanted. “Obviously that leaves something in your head,” he said in early December. “But even then you want to make the most of the opportunity you were given.”
There’s clearly something deeper there. But Mack isn’t about to entertain a Dr. Phil-like feelings session. That’s not who he is. Don’t talk about it. Be about it.
That’s what he promised on his first weekend as a Bear as he peeled back the curtain ever so slightly on his psyche. Remember, Mack came out of Fort Pierce Westwood High School in Florida as a two-star recruit. He still hasn’t forgotten how he was overlooked then and, by his own admission, keeps inventory on all such slights.
“I like looking at the negative stuff,” Mack acknowledged. “Because it fuels me. It lights a fire that’s going to be burning for a long time.”
Mack is no longer the overlooked high school recruit. He’s the highest-paid defensive player in the history of the sport and the engine of a defense that may suddenly be the most feared in the league.
On that first weekend in September, with his parents in the corner of a room inside the PNC Center at Halas Hall, Mack admitted he felt added pressure after signing such a rich contract.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I’d be lying if I told you there wasn’t. But just based on how hard I’ve worked, and how hard I play, I want to be able to go out and show why. That’s just me.”
His dad, Sandy, was vigorously nodding. “I’ve always thought of myself as the best defensive player in the league and I want to play like the best defensive player in the league,” Mack continued. “I want to be the best at what I do. That’s just me. That’s what comes with Mack.”
Sandy pumped a fist. “Yes!” he exclaimed.
Mack turned his dad’s way and smiled. “Good response, Pop?” he asked. Sandy laughed. Fitting response for sure.
That’s what comes with Mack.
As the playoffs begin, the Eagles and the rest of the NFC have been warned.