Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase said earlier this offseason that he was waiting for Justin Jefferson to complete his new contract before worrying about his own. Now that Jefferson has reset the wide receiver market, though, the question is how long the Bengals will wait.
The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. argues that the Jefferson deal swings the leverage back in Cincinnati’s favor. Now that Jefferson has set the market, they can take their time. Through the fifth-year option, they still control Chase’s contract for the next two seasons. And he isn’t in a position to attempt any kind of holdout into the regular season.
As Dehner points out, teams were in a rush early this offseason to get deals done. They wanted to beat the Minnesota Vikings before completing Jefferson’s contract. Everyone from A.J. Brown to Michael Pittman signed big new-money deals that dwarf prior highs on the pay scale.
But the Bengals always knew they would pay top dollar for Ja’Marr Chase. They envisioned that the second they drafted him to pair him with QB Joe Burrow. And they also know that Chase wants to play with Burrow throughout their careers together. The Bengals already signed Burrow to a long-term deal, so he isn’t going anywhere.
Chase surely knows the Bengals will get to his deal, as well. The only question is how stubborn they are willing to be in terms of precedent. The Bengals are a team that doesn’t give out guarantees beyond the first season. Burrow, the franchise quarterback, was the exception, but do they hold the line on Chase?
The Pittsburgh Steelers faced a similar conundrum when finishing OLB T.J. Watt’s deal. At the time, it was the largest defensive contract in NFL history, but more notably, it included additional guarantees. They’ve done big deals since, but only Minkah Fitzpatrick got further guarantees.
Players have shifted their focus over time more and more on fully-guaranteed salary as contract benchmarks. Not without good reason, of course, because teams frequently release players before those deals run their course. And Jefferson got $89 million guaranteed on a $110 deal. Are the Bengals willing to pay Chase that kind of money?
Through three seasons, Ja’Marr Chase has 268 receptions for 3,717 yards and 29 touchdowns. He made the All-Pro list as a rookie with 81 catches for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns. He hasn’t quite duplicated those numbers since, but Chase and Burrow have dealt with injuries the past two years.
One could argue that Chase had a “down” year last season, catching 100 passes for 1,216 yards and 7 touchdowns. Perhaps he might want to wait until next year to sign a new contract, betting on himself to go off with a truly breakthrough performance this season, in doing so topping the deal Jefferson earned.
But do the Bengals want to wait, as well? Teams are increasingly signing their non-quarterback first-round picks to extensions after three years. The salary cap and contracts only go up over time, after all. Either way, though, Chase is now operating on the Bengals’ timeline, now that the Jefferson shoe dropped.
