Someone's gotta win: Could a Bear take home the billion-dollar Mega Millions jackpot?

Khalil Mack hit a jackpot in August after the Chicago Bears traded for him, signing a seven-year extension for $141 million with his new team.

But he didn't hit the jackpot. That would be the Mega Millions giveaway that has exceeded $1 billion - and should be even higher by Friday night's drawing.

The Bears were winding down their practice week on Friday and getting ready for Sunday's big showdown against the New England Patriots. It's an important game, no doubt, and the players' focuses clearly are on Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the rest of their looming opponents.

But with a little downtime on Friday after practice, we wondered … would any Bears players even be thinking about the lottery? So we asked a few.

Yes, NFL players and coaches are well-paid. But are we saying that well-paid people don't like having even more money? Folks from all walks of life play some version of the lottery, so we thought we would take a stroll through the locker room to see what players though about the lottery - or if they even knew it was that high.

We started with Bears head coach Matt Nagy.

"I'm going to have my wife do it," he said with a smile as he left his media conference. Smart - gives him a chance to win while still maximizing his study time for Sunday's tough opponent.

Next we spoke with offensive lineman Bryan Witzmann. No dice there.

"That's a no," he said. "A hard no."

Oh, OK. Not a big lottery guy then?

"I'm a math guy," said Witzmann, who was an engineering major at South Dakota State and who has listed math and science as hobbies of his.

"I just know (the odds are) in the millions," Witzmann said.

They're even worse than that - try 1 in 302.6 million.

But Bears S Adrian Amos, whose locker sits next to Witzmann's, offered an interesting parry to his teammate's argument.

"Same odds as making the NFL, you figure," Amos said. "Why not?"

Witzmann offered another hard no on that one. So does that mean Amos is in?

"I keep private matters private," he said, wisely. "Because if I hit (the jackpot), that way nobody knows."

We strolled over to Eddie Goldman to get his take - he's on Witzmann's side on this debate.

"I think (Amos) is wrong," Goldman said. "I think winning the lottery is harder, even for the average guy."

So he's not playing, and he said his attitude would not be different had he not signed a massive contract extension prior to the season. Instead, Goldman's motivation comes from watching his grandmother play - and lose - often.

"My grandma played the lottery my whole life, and she never won big," he said. "Maybe a free ticket or something."

Bears FB Michael Burton is out, too. He said he's locked in on the Patriots this weekend.

"I am not planning on playing. I have never played the lottery," he said.

When told how high the total had gotten, though, Burton sounded like a man who was suddenly considering his options.

"Wow, a billion? That's pretty incredible," he said. "I haven't heard guys talking about it this week. You bringing it up, that's the first I've heard of it."

But it reminded him he needed to make a call home.

"I am sure my parents will. I know my dad does," Burton said. "I need to text him now to make sure he knows how big it is."

It was also news to S Deon Bush

"I had no idea," he said. "First I'm hearing it. I've never once played.

"I mean, I would want a billion dollars, sure, but it's stacked against you. But then again if you think about it, the person that wins, if they would have thought that way they would have never won either."

Backup QB Chase Daniel? Also out.

"Nah, not playing," he said. "I'll still be doing what I do. It would be pretty sweet though."

Told that Nagy, who has been his coach for two stints now with the Bears and previously with the Chiefs, was dispatching his wife for tickets, Daniel said: "Oh, now I believe that. I absolutely can see him saying that."

It should be noted that Daniel - who has earned more than $28 million in the NFL, all for 78 career pass attempts - seems to be pretty smart about his money, so maybe he's onto something.

But DT Nick Williams, PK Cody Parkey and practice-squad DT Abdullah Anderson are absolutely game for the big giveaway.

"Heck yeah, man," Williams said. "Come on now. Who wouldn't want that?"

Williams' mother called him and asked him to buy her five tickets. But Williams said he is snagging 15 for himself.

"Gonna head to the gas station right now, in fact," he said. Williams also reported that LT Charles Leno is most likely on the buy list after they discussed the matter before practice Friday.

Parkey seemed shocked many of his teammates were not interested.

"I mean, why not?" he asked rhetorically. "For two bucks, you increase your odds a little bit. Right?"

Every time the lottery reaches a certain plateau, Parkey's eyes and ears perk up a bit.

"I am not a religious player," he said, "but once I see it get super high, I am like, 'Hey man, I could do a lot of good with this money and donate a lot of it.'"

Anderson is following the pattern of his grandfather and mother and will play the dates of his own birthday and the birthdays of his cousins. He thinks there are more guys in the locker room than we realize who are going to try their hand at it.

"We were out there on the practice field today and a few guys were talking about it," said Anderson, who would give half the money to charity and half for his family. "They said it was up to … is it 1 billion now?

"That's billion with a 'B,' right?"

As players started strolling out of the locker room Friday, Williams stopped back by to ask when the drawing was, making sure he had enough time. Bush was also walking out when he stopped and turned around - it sounded like he might have had a change of heart.

"You know? You just gave me a little motivation," he said. "Maybe I'll go pick up a ticket."

Why not?