By virtue of picking up Ja’Marr Chase‘s fifth-year option, the Bengals have their top wide receiver tied to his rookie contract for two more seasons. Coming into this offseason, no team in the option era had extended a first-round wideout with two years of rookie-deal control remaining. But clubs have changed course recently.
The Eagles and Dolphins, respectively, paid 2021 first-rounders DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. The Bengals are viewed as unlikely to follow this offseason trend, eyeing a 2025 Chase payday. The fourth-year receiver appears to be attempting to force the issue. Chase is not practicing for a second straight day, and the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway indicating the Pro Bowler wants a new contract.
This process is veering toward a hold-in. This tactic has become a common practice during the 2020s, after the 2020 CBA made holdouts more difficult to wage. With the Bengals not known to cave in to player demands often, this will be an interesting storyline to follow.
Chase said during minicamp he was fully healthy, via ESPN.com’s Ben Baby, and the Bengals have not placed him on their active/NFI list. This further points to a hold-in measure being waged. The Bengals have shut down Jonah Williams, Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson‘s trade requests over the past two offseasons, but Chase will attempt another way to bring management to the table.
Chase did not show for Cincy’s OTAs but did report to minicamp. At the mandatory offseason event, however, Chase only participated in Bengals walkthroughs. The Bengals have effectively earmarked a Chase extension, as they have Higgins tied to the franchise tag for the 2024 season. Higgins’ Cincinnati future is blurry, while the team has identified Chase as its No. 2 overall priority (behind Joe Burrow, who is already extended).
Mike Brown said (via Conway) the Bengals have started negotiations with Chase. The Vikings had begun talks with Justin Jefferson last year, but the sides were unable to come to terms by Week 1. This led to negotiations being tabled to 2024, when the Vikings hammered out a record-setting deal. The guarantees in Jefferson’s four-year, $140MM extension ($110MM in total, $88.7MM in full) proved eye-popping around the league and are certain to have changed Chase’s target. Chase had indicated he wanted to wait for his former college teammate’s contract before finalizing a push for his own extension. A year younger than Jefferson and vital for a Super Bowl contender’s mission, Chase has some leverage he can try to exert.
That said, the Bengals have the LSU product tied to a $1.1MM 2024 base salary and a fully guaranteed $21.82MM fifth-year option f0r 2025. While the team hold the cards here, Chase will eventually require a contract the Bengals typically have not been comfortable authorizing.
Joining the Packers in being against guarantees beyond Year 1 for non-quarterbacks, and Baby adds the Bengals have bristled at the notion they will need to change their contract preferences for non-QBs. The Vikings guaranteed Jefferson’s 2024 and 2025 base salaries and most of his 2026 money.
Structure figures to become a sticking point for an old-school organization, complicating its Chase talks. The Bengals may well have a clearer path to a deal in 2025, when Higgins — barring a second tag not used to be traded — comes off the books. For now, no deal is imminent.
Lmao what are they doing. It’s only getting more pricy after JJ deal. Why are these owners so ridiculous sometimes
And why won’t these players play out their contracts and abide by the rules there own union negotiated for them?
The easy answer is would you work for $1.1M when your contemporaries are making $30M?
He signed the only deal he could. The CBA suppresses money for players on their first contract. His first contract is about to run out. He’s made less in his four years in the league than AJ Brown makes in an average season of his contract. It’s time to pay the man.
Been asking that for years. It’s a legally binding contract. You can’t agree to sell your house for 100,00 dollars then say you want more because your neighbor got 150,000.
For one thing, because Chase will eventually have the ability to walk away from the team that pussyfooted around paying their young superstar. This is the end of the only contract he was eligible to sign in the only place he was eligible to sign it. It’s not like other professions and it’s certainly not like a house sale.
It’s exactly like a house sale. You signed a contract to play for x amount of dollars, or you signed your name to buy a house for x amount of dollars each is a legally binding contract. You can’t just cry and stomp and expect to get more money. No one coerced him, twisted his arm or put a *** to his head. He signed his name and got his first check and that’s what makes it legally binding. I don’t think people understand that he was told how much he would be paid and he could have walked away and used whatever degree he earned in college to make money, but he chose to sign on the dotted line. Wouldn’t you be pissed if you stood in line for groceries and then at the cashier doubled the amount you were expecting to pay? The listed price is legally binding,they can’t just decide to double the price. You can either buy the groceries or walk away with nothing. I know most of us would sign if we were offered a NFL contract but the point is he had a choice. Pat Tillman made a choice to forgo millions to be patriotic and join the Army, nobody coerced him either way, he made a choice.
Eh not exactly. Yes a contract is legally binding between 2 parties. However, any contract can be renegotiated or terminated at any time if the 2 parties agree. It is common in the NFL for teams/players to renegotiate the original contract before the 5th year option kicks in. It’s a sign of respect to the player and goodwill on behalf of management to keep the player. Letting a good player ride on the option is a big f you. Chase has a legit argument. He’s making $1.1M this year and his contemporaries are making $25-30M. Why should he play and risk a career ending injury for $1.1M?
The bottom line is the NFL/NFLPA can’t legislate who gets or doesn’t get contracts renegotiated in the CBA. The CBA is for 1600 players. But teams and players can renegotiate at any time if both parties agree.
A SIGNED contract is binding to both parties. Try to go into court and explain how you signed your name on the dotted line and now you want 30 times the payment for doing the same job. Please try that in a court. It doesn’t matter if you are buying a racehorse, a home, a football team, or the services of a football player, a signed contract is a binding agreement. You guys are talking what’s common, or what’s right, or what should be. I’m talking what is, there’s a signed contract and unless someone else signed his name, he’s declared incompetent, or he’s under age it’s a binding agreement.
Yeah, none of that holds up. We’re not talking about purchasing an inanimate property here.
Why is this the owners’ fault? Why are QBs that aren’t worth their deal getting top dollar? Why are WRs asking for more and more? If this continues to go this direction, then the future of the NFL should honestly be brought into doubt.
The market resets my brother. If what you saying were true an entity such as the nfl that has existed for over 100 years would be paying QBs easily $80 million a year or more. Markets rise and fall and warp every five seconds. That’s why stock market exists. The market will reset sooner than later it’s the way of the business
Salaries are going up because league revenue is going up. The salary cap has gone up by more than 28% since Chase entered the league. The league is making more money than ever. Of course players are making more money. And when you’re the most frugal ownership group in football and you’re not getting a deal done with a homegrown young superstar, people are going to talk ownership.
Oooof well said. This is basically it. If my employer hit $700 mill in a year after only getting $80 mill last year the workers including me are going to ask for a raise lol
Market economics is why. Just like RBs aren’t making what they used to, now WRs are getting paid more. Plus the salary cap went up significantly for 2024. Everything balances out in the end.
All this “ holding in “ nonsense. Can you imagine , what if you and I held in. If a police officer wanted more money and went to the precinct in uniform and just sat there. Or any other job.
Ah yes, cops. People who famously never just sit around at work.
Pick your profession … doesn’t matter ..
OK. Most professions you get to have some state over what state you’re even employed in. Most professions you don’t expect to make most if not all of your money within a decade with huge risk of career ending (or life altering) injury any time you take the field. Most professions it’s impossible to generate tens of millions of dollars of surplus value the first few years of your career. I could go on.
Ever picked body parts from a kid off the roadway? I have. Use seat belts for the kids.
What’s really funny is these guys make millions, but they get paid wether they play or not. Get hurt at home,get paid. Get benched, get paid. Stink up the stadium with your playing, still get paid. To me personally I don’t think anyone is worth 30-50 million dollars a year for playing football. It’s pretty ridiculous that back in the 50’s and 60’s players, even the star players in baseball and football had to work off season jobs to make ends meet and now these guys want millions just to sit on the bench.
Bad/hurt players also get cut. The average career of an NFL player is only 3.3 years, and some don’t make “millions”. The rookie minimum salary is $750K. 5th round picks sign a contract for 5yr/$4M but many wont even make it that far. Every year look at any team and see how many new faces are there. Teams turn over rosters every 5 years or so. Getting hurt is a real possibility in the NFL.
Only 750,000 a year? How can someone live on that? These players are in college a minimum of 3 years and either have or are close to a degree, which they got for free. They are far from a homeless guy on the street with no prospects So you live out your dream for 3.3 years, invest your money wisely and you don’t have to work for the rest of your life. Or you use whatever degree you earned in college and make a good living. Looks like a win-win situation to me.