Two of Bears' three leading extension candidates collected nice performance-based pay bumps

Eddie Jackson — USA Today Sports ImageThe Bears are likely to make Pro Bowl alternate C Cody Whitehair and first-team All-Pro S Eddie Jackson very, very wealthy sooner than later. In the meantime, they each earned strong bonuses on top of their rookie-contract salaries Thursday for their contributions via the NFL's performance-based pay program awarding all players based on their play time and salaries.

Whitehair, who became eligible for an extension this offseason, has started 49 consecutive games to begin his career and has a strong rapport with Mitch Trubisky, likely rating him as the Bears' top offseason extension candidate. In the meantime, he earned an additional $118,320 bonus for…