For any first-round draft pick in the NFL, there is a fifth-year option baked into the rookie contract. Whereas most rookie contracts last just four years, teams have the option to exercise a fifth year for the first rounders to give them an extra year of team control at a specified amount. The amount is based on the amount of playing time and the number of Pro Bowl selections over their first three seasons with the option decision coming after year three. The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly exercised WR Ja’Marr Chase’s option, per Albert Breer on X—no surprises there.
The deadline to make the decision is May 2 for the players selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. For Chase, because he has been in the Pro Bowl three times, his option amount is set at $21,816,000 per Over The Cap. The fifth-year, and the fourth-year salary, become fully guaranteed at the time of exercise.
That salary may seem high, but it is a huge discount compared to recent WR extensions. Amon-Ra St. Brown, for example, signed a $30 million average annual value contract earlier today. The discussion surrounding Chase’s fifth-year option, as Breer noted, probably lasted about five seconds.
Earlier today Adam Schefter reported that the Pittsburgh Steelers do not plan to pick up Justin Fields’ option year with him being a first-round pick in 2021 by the Chicago Bears. They still have one more decision to make on RB Najee Harris. His option amount is just $6,790,000, and given his three-straight years over 1,000 rushing yards, it seems like a no-brainer to pick up. Jaylen Warren’s emergence does complicate things, but the Steelers could also be working on a longer-term deal with Harris, using the fifth-year option amount as a starting point for negotiations.
As for Chase and the Bengals, the AFC North will have to continue dealing with Chase’s supreme talents as a pass catcher at least through the 2025 season, and they could turn around and negotiate an extension in the coming months to keep him in Cincinnati for the long haul.
In three seasons, Chase has 3,717 yards on 268 receptions and 29 total touchdowns, and that is with him missing six possible regular-season games and being without QB Joe Burrow for part of the 2023 season.
