What Bears paid Mike Glennon and his total career earnings originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Six teams, nine NFL seasons and $31,967,539 earned – that’s Mike Glennon’s career arc … so far.
The current New York Giants signal caller hasn’t won a start since 2017, a streak that was extended in the Giants’ 29-3 loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 17. Glennon finished the game 4 of 11 passing for 24 yards and two interceptions while taking 34 yards on four sacks. That’s a net of -10 passing yards, for those scoring at home.
It wasn’t always this bad for the former third-round pick, though. He made 13 starts with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a rookie in 2013, throwing for 2,608 yards with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
When his rookie deal expired following the 2016 season, Glennon was courted by Ryan Pace and the Bears. He signed a three-year, $45 million deal with Chicago and was expected to start – and he did just that … for four games. With the Bears at 1-3 and No. 2 overall pick Mitch Trubisky waiting on the sidelines, head coach John Fox benched Glennon. He didn’t play another snap for Chicago.
The Bears officially released Glennon in March of 2018, just one year after signing him. In total, he made $18.5 million from the franchise – more than half of his career earnings.
Since leaving the Bears, Glennon has bounced around as a backup quarterback. He made $5 million in 2018 with the Arizona Cardinals before his salary dropped below $2 million in each of the last three seasons with the Oakland Raiders (2019), Jacksonville Jaguars (2020) and Giants (2021).
Nobody knows for sure if the 32-year-old Glennon will receive another NFL contract when his current one-year deal expires. He’s had a rough go of it in 2021, but teams tend to gravitate toward veteran backup quarterbacks. With nearly $32 million earned from NFL paychecks, Glennon could theoretically walk away with generational wealth.