Ayanbadejo ready to hit free-agent market

After two straight Pro Bowl selections as a special-teams coverage ace, Brendon Ayanbadejo is hitting the unrestricted free-agent market at precisely the right time for his financial future.

"It's going to be a good journey, a journey I've never been on before," the 31-year-old, five-year veteran said. "I'm actually in control of my own destiny for once."

Ayanbadejo credits special-teams coordinator Dave Toub and his teammates on the coverage and kick-return teams with much of his success, but he's not sure if that's enough to bring him back to the Bears.

"I don't think it's up to me where I end up," he said. "Probably whichever team wants me the most will end up having me. That's just the nature of the beast, the way it works out."

Does that mean money will be the determining factor?

"There's other factors involved," he said. "I went to college on the West Coast (UCLA), and living on the West Coast is really appealing. I don't think it's all about money, but it is a business, and at the end of the day, you have to be business-wise."

The knowledge that Sunday's game might be his last with the Bears was in the back of Ayanbadejo's mind most of the day.

"I kind of played with a heavy heart," he said. "I was thinking, 'OK, I've got two quarters left as a Bear; I've got one quarter left as a Bear -- potentially. I'm embracing the future but remembering everything that coach Toub did to push my career to the next level. I'm very appreciative of the things that he did for me while I was a Bear -- not to say that I'm leaving, but potentially I could be, though."

Ayanbadejo expressed serious doubts that he would be able to accomplish elsewhere what he and his teammates did with the Bears.

"I don't think I'll be the same player somewhere else," Ayanbadejo said. "If I do leave, it'll never amount to the achievements and success that I've had in Chicago. We scored 7 special-teams touchdowns this year. Last year we had 6. To do the things that we do on special teams and dominate games and control games, I don't think any other team will have the ability to do that, regardless of if I'm on the team or not."