The Cincinnati Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase captured a rare trifecta, leading the NFL in receiving yards, receptions, and receiving touchdowns. He had a dominant season, catching 127 passes for 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns. Nobody in team history ever had a season quite like that—and now it’s time for the Bengals to acknowledge that through the purse strings.
Chase is entering the final year of his rookie contract, due for an extension. Speaking to reporters at the Pro Bowl this weekend, the Bengals receiver was measured in his comments. He wanted a new deal done last year, but he has only strengthened his bargaining position since then.
“I hope I get what’s fair” from the Bengals, Chase said. “What my worth is, at the end of the day. Hopefully I don’t put too much pressure on anybody, but I just want it to be fair. That’s all”.
By any standard, fair-market value for Ja’Marr Chase would be the top of the market. He is arguably the best wide receiver in the league, and it is his turn to cash in. Last year, his college teammate, Justin Jefferson, earned a $35 million-per-year contract. It was the highest-valued non-quarterback contract in NFL history, and the Bengals will have to better it, most believe.
Asked what a fair contract looked to him, Chase carefully navigated the question ahead of negotiations with the Bengals. “Fair is just what I deserve”, he said. “I can’t really say everything I want to say, but it’s what I deserve, it’s what I worked for, it’s how hard I worked for [it]. It’s a written story already, so it should be a fair change”.
The fifth pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Ja’Marr Chase makes up one half of arguably the best quarterback-receiver duo in the NFL today with Joe Burrow on the Bengals. Having already established a connection in college, they picked up right where they left off in the NFL. The only thing that has slowed the pair down has been health.
Since entering the NFL four seasons ago, Chase has 395 receptions for 5,425 yards and 46 touchdowns. The Bengals have watched him make Pro Bowl after Pro Bowl, raising his contract value each time. While they paid Burrow, they still have to prove their willingness to pay Chase.
And it’s not just Ja’Marr Chase. While he still has a year left on his contract, the Bengals have WR Tee Higgins hitting free agency. Higgins played under the franchise tag last year, and it’s hard to envision the team re-signing both. To tag Higgins again would cost them over $26 million, and that’s non-fungible against the cap.
It might be worth that price if the Bengals want to go all in on a Super Bowl run in 2025. Considering they didn’t even make the playoffs last year, that might not be the wisest gamble. But then again, teams like the Bengals don’t get too many shots at it, and with an offense that has Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, you don’t want to overlook a Tee Higgins, either.
