Prior to the beginning of the 2008 season, Hester stated that he would not attend the Bears' summer camp unless the team offered him a new contract. He further voiced his displeasure with his current contract in a phone interview with the Chicago Tribune, commenting, "I can’t go out and play this year making $445,000. Come on, man." Adam Schefter believed that the Bears were puzzled over how Hester should be classified (as a wide receiver or a return specialist of such a star caliber), and be offered a contract accordingly. After receiving a $30,000 fine for not attending two days of training, Hester returned to the team's camp. The team later offered him a new four-year contract extension, worth over $40 million.

When Hester's contract was being discussed, Pompei argued the Bears should trade him because his value would never be higher for a one-dimensional player than it was at the time. My initial reaction was one of vehement disagreement since Hester was sadly the Bears' best offensive weapon, but in retrospect I think Pompei was right. And I say retrospect and not hindsight because I think it was a good move to do even if Hester continued his record breaking ways as a KR/PR. The Bears had so many holes on offense that may have been filled by any compensation you'd get in return for the best KR/PR on the planet.

I think the same logic should apply to Joakim Noah this year...

If Da Bulls still had Omer Asik I would be OK with them unloading Noah at peak value.