Former BYU running back Chris Brooks has reportedly agreed to a two-year, $4.85 million contract to remain with the Green Bay Packers:
Running back Chris Brooks and the #Packers have agreed to terms on a 2 year deal worth $4.85m. #OWSG pic.twitter.com/FyMAE6fCAX
— One West Sports Group (@OneWestSports) March 4, 2026
This is major news for 2023 undrafted free agent who just completed his third NFL season, and something to be celebrated by the BYU community.
Brooks played one season at BYU in 2022. He came to Provo as a graduate transfer after having played four previous seasons at Cal. He made an impact in his only season at BYU as he rushed for 817 yards in 11 games with an impressive 6.3 yards per carry average. He scored six touchdowns that season, which was BYU's final campaign as a football independent
Chris Brooks' NFL career
The 6-foot-1, 219-pound halfback wasn't selected in the 2023 NFL Draft but latched on with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted rookie free agent. The odds of UDFAs going on to have successful NFL careers is microscopically low as upward of 500 of them sign with teams in a given year. Most UDFAs are referred to as "camp bodies" to help teams make it through training camp and the preseason before getting unceremoniously released at final roster cutdowns before the season begins.
Chris Brooks overcame the odds and not only made the Dolphins roster as a rookie, but actually saw the field. In his first NFL season he appeared in nine games with 19 carries for 106 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
The Dolphins waived him after his rookie season and Brooks signed with the Green Bay Packers practice squad before the 2024 regular season began. He was quickly elevated to the 53-man roster and has spent the last two seasons as an important situational running back and a mainstay on special teams.
In two seasons with the Packers he has appeared 32 games with 63 carries for 289 yards and one touchdown, averaging a healthy 4.6 yards per carry. Brooks is often deployed on passing downs and has developed into an effective pass blocker in the backfield, something that doesn't show up in the stat sheet. He is also a serviceable receiving option with 24 receptions for 160 yards. He has played 387 offensive snaps over the last two seasons, averaging just over 12 snaps per game.
He's also a mainstay with Green Bay's special teams, logging 354 snaps over the last two years. Brooks has 16 tackles for the Packers, including a career-high 14 last year.
While a two-year, $4.85 million contract isn't eye-popping money for professional sports, this is a sweet deal for a 26-year-old player who wasn't taken in the draft. Through his first three NFL seasons he has earned a total of $2.48 million, or roughly $827,000 per year. Assuming he plays out the next two years under his new deal, he'll make on average just over $2.4 million per season. Few undrafted players ever earn that kind of a payday.
Congratulations, Chris Brooks. That's money well earned.