Ja’Marr Chase was already expected to reset the wide receiver market when he inks his next contract. However, it’s sounding like the Bengals star could soar past the field.
[RELATED: Bengals Seeking Long-Term Deal For Ja’Marr Chase]
According to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports, Chase is expected to command at least $40MM per year on his next deal. This average annual value would easily put the WR atop his position, and it would even rival some QB contracts.
It was less than a year ago that the top of the wide receiver market settled in at a $30MM AAV, with Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, A.J. Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Brandon Aiyuk joining Tyreek Hill at that milestone. Jefferson ended up earning the highest average of the bunch, as his four-year extension came in at $35MM per year. At the time, it was expected that Chase’s next deal would approach or slightly top that pact, but it’s now sounding like the Bengals WR has his eyes set on an even larger pay day.
Jefferson currently leads all non-QBs in AAV, with the $30MM-plus group also consisting of a handful of defenders (including Nick Bosa and Chris Jones). Chase’s targeted $40MM AAV would place him tied for 15th in the entire league, with that number matching Matthew Stafford‘s annual earnings and topping the likes of Baker Mayfield, Aaron Rodgers, and Derek Carr.
While both Chase and the Bengals made some progress on extension talks last offseason, they couldn’t agree to a deal before their self-imposed deadline of Week 1. The two sides did not engage in contract talks during the 2024 campaign, and there’s now a bit more urgency with Chase entering the final season of his rookie contract. While the organization has made it clear all along that they’re prioritizing a new deal for the star wideout, that may be easier said than done.
In addition to Joe Burrow‘s once-record-breaking deal, the Bengals are also navigating Tee Higgins‘ impending free agency. A recent report indicated that the front office was planning to hit Higgins with the franchise tag for a second-straight offseason, a move that would lock them into a relatively affordable $26.2MM commitment for the 2025 campaign. The Bengals could also hit Chase with the franchise tag in 2026 and 2027, which would buy the organization even more time to figure out their financials.
While there’s a chance the Bengals just look to roll with their star trio for one more season, there have been genuine rumblings that they’re trying to keep all three players for the long haul. In that case, Burrow, Chase, and Higgins would cost the team at least $120MM per season, even if the QB is willing to hand back some money.
Bengals only have themselves to blame, could have just done a deal last year. The cap continues to go up so top guys are going to take more. .
Bengals are either superb idiots or though Jamarr would have a really low down year or both.
Absolutely. He was always going to top the last guy and now the cap has gone up even more than projected.
Yup
And we wonder why they have never won a Super Bowl….
I’m a Bengals fan btw.
They have got closer than some other teams. I always liked Sam Wyche (even more after his “You don’t live in Cleveland” dig). Let’s give them some style points for the Ickey Shuffle too 🙂
Ain’t no WR worth that much. Heck, ain’t no player worth that much. And you can hold your “but the owners are billionaires” spiel, because I don’t care.
But the owners are billionaires.
The “owners are billionaires” part doesn’t hold a lot of water when there’s a salary cap and most teams spend up to the limit. You can argue that the cap should be higher, but it’s already not bad. In baseball it makes sense because tons of teams spend as little as possible to pocket any profits.
That said, I have to agree. With the current cap number, no WR is worth $40 million a year. I have a hard time believing a lot of teams would be lining up to sign Chase, even considering his talent.
AAV is such a fake stat though … it’s all about the guarantees and cap hits really so while his 40M AAV is doable, I’m more curious to know how much they guarantee and what his cap hits are in the first three years of his new contract.
Exactly.
Everyone should save their “so, you’re one of those human footstools conditioned their entire lives to resent your fellow workers while giddily tongue bathing monied interests” spiel because you’re cool with it.
Ain’t no way they shamin’ you.
A lot of people think the owners are in this to break even. Plus, all the people who say the players are entitled to all the money are the same ones who complain about a beer and brat costing $15 each.
@paulk-2, ironically, the people who complain that teachers and doctors should be the ones being paid more are the same ones who don’t like communist ideals…
Didn’t even notice your comment but I love you for it!
Communist.
Exactly.
No commies gonna shame you for being a kleenex for the rich.
You love it.
It is one thing to set the market. But he is not 10 mil a year better. He isn’t far superior compared to all the other top receivers. He can want 40 a year but he will probably end up at 32 if not even closer to the pack.He gets 40 and you can almost count on Higgins and Hendrickson walking if they do not get tagged.
Jefferson is getting 35 so he’s setting the market now
$40 million is a great number to float to make it more palatable when $36.5 million comes in.
His target should be set at $46MM to match his career touchdown total 🙂
That is the most receiving touchdowns of any player since he entered the league.
I’m happy for guys that can make this kind of money and set themselves and future generation up for financial safety. It’s quite impressive when you take it all in.
Lost in though is the ability to build a complete roster of 52 men that can compete as a team and win as a team.
If 5% of your roster takes up 43% of your total cap number, it starts to create a significant challenge to pay a solid offensive line to protect the QB long enough to actually be able to throw to these guys. An elite left tackle makes $20M plus – and the top O-lines bring in $60M. So now you’re at $180M for 8 guys. Leaves you with approximately $100M for 11 starters on defense, a coupe RB’s and a TE. Then you need backups and special teamers.
Something has to give and you need really good coaching to get the most out of guys and schemes that are undermanned. It creates quite the conundrum for a GM and coaching staff as these Individual salaries sky rocket.
It also sets you up for failure if any of your high ticket guys go down with an injury, which happens a lot in this league.
What a puss…if you’re going to ask for stupid money then really be stupid and just round it up to 50 million per year and the laughter you hear will be the same as 40 million per year…all that does is make you a perfect target for the tag label again and again and again until they burn the tread off you and then they let you walk.
Regardless of if they waited or not you can’t pay 40 mil. Trade him for 2 first and a player if that’s the demand, then resign Higgins if he will take 25-28(overpay). At some point you have to realize these players can’t always top the next guy. Don’t screw the whole cap up and have burrow, chase and maybe Hendrickson( if they can afford him).
$100M on 3-4 players?
Cool story bro
Better than the Cowboys having $90 in cap space on Dak this year.
Chiefs have $186 in 6 players. Not a very uncommon thing to have a ton in a handful of players.
186 on 6 players AND several Lombardis is a different story
Jerry destroyed Dallas’ chances at a Lombardi for … awhile
Tying up that much in three … in the case of DAL & CIN: QB, WR, & DE … is insane; although CIN will have Higgins while Ceedee stands alone
Cincy’s cap room blows up to over 200 million under the cap next year so they can make it work if done right.
Dak is a waste of the Cowboys time. He isn’t good enough. He’s a glorified Andy Dalton. Cowboys will not make a deep playoff run with Dak at QB besides the fact he can’t stay healthy.
I, too, am hoping to get $40m a year. Probably equally as smart to pay me that much…
Is his life really going to change for the worse if he made 36 million instead of 40 million dollars a year?
Are the Bengals going to win a SB if Chase takes 36 million vs 40 million?
The answer to both questions is…
No
65 mil for two wide receivers would be insane.
AJ Brown’s contract has a $25 million average and Devonta Smith’s has a $22 million average, so the team that just won the Super Bowl comes close. Of course, the Eagles are willing to structure contracts in a way the Bengals won’t.
Every team does business different and unless you look up the contracts, you are probably going to be lost in these conversations. The Chiefs aren’t big on the void year thing, but the 49ers give out void years like it’s going out of style. Thats why the Chiefs are barely under the cap and the 49ers are swimming in cap space every year.
The Bengals have over $45 million in cap space and have $216 million next year. This won’t be a hard thing to get done. Plus, 40 million a year isn’t realistic even if he gets it. Most of it is funny money that he will never see. Just lights and horns going off.
Look at Brandon Aiyuk’s contract. 4 years, $120 million. He is going to play this season and is either going to have to restructure or get cut/traded. So out of that $120 million, he might actually get $50 million of it.
Yeah, they pay them for the next 20 years, long after their usefulness is done. Can’t imagine why the Bengals don’t want to do that. KC will find out when all that deferred money comes due.
But it’s good strategy as long as your ownership is willing to pony up cash near term. Philly had over $50 million in dead cap this past season. I don’t think they’re upset about it. Spreading out money in an era of skyrocketing salary caps also just makes basic financial sense.
Well Chase, you’ve finally done it. Made yourself look more like a sphincter right in the middle of an ass, than ever before. You and your buddies want to earn half of the salary cap. 4 guys (Joe,Chase,Tee,vand Trey) get half while the other 64 split the other half? (49 active-15 on practice squad for you trolls).
F**k you and the horse you rode in on. Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh,and Baltimore are blue collar,hard working fans who expect a fair wage for a days hard work. You, on the other hand, play a game for a living. You’re not saving lives in an ER, hunting down criminals, working in a power plant keeping people’s lights on, working on the river tug moving grain or coal, or even driving a truck hauling freight. What you do is inconsequential to society, you play a kid’s game for a living. Get a grip on yourself,if you disappeared tomorrow fans would miss you, but life would go on. You’re not that important. Sorry bro, you’re just not.
I love to watch football, but when someone says, F**k y’all fans, and by the way F**k my teammate’s I lose all respect for them. It’s a team sport and you are a me,me,me kinda guy. If I was Trey or Tee I would have a problem with you because you apparently don’t want me to be paid too. It’s been nice watching you for a few years but I hope they trade you for 2 or 3 first round draft choices and be done with your antics forever. What an narcissistic goof you are. Hopefully at some point in your life you’ll have to use that degree in Finger Painting you “earned” in college and work a real job to see how the other 99% of people live.
This is my rant,if you don’t like it,I could care less. Never comment before coffee in the morning, but I don’t think coffee will change my mind this time.
Bad take on this one
NFL is a billion dollar company cause of guys like Chase. If Chase was Chase Claypool instead of Ja’Marr Chase the nfl would be the ufl and wouldn’t be nearly as profitable.
Guys like Chase Jefferson St Brown etc make their teams and the league money through tv deals. The ones fans want to watch get paid the most and the ones who are replaceable don’t make as much.
Blue collar jobs aren’t comparable to nfl jobs cause
1. You’re replaceable as 1 of 10000000 of people who could do your job
2. Your job isn’t profitable the same way the nfl is
Chase isn’t the one stopping Higgins and Hendrickson from being paid. That’d be the bengals and nfl with the franchise tag who stop them and any player from getting paid.
One thing the nfl and sports in general do offer is opportunities to increase your own financial worth.
Nobody bets on ers nurses doctors
Nobody bets on power plant workers
Nobody bets on cops or firefighters
Tons of people bet on games and if you’re good at it you can make some serious money doing so.
They are not consequential to anyone’s life. They PLAY a game. Thousands upon thousands of people play 3-4 years in college and graduate then go to work, never to play another game. It’s called REAL life, and not a fantasy life where catching a football is worth that much money. Football players make the team money? We make them money! If we don’t watch then the networks look at the ratings and say nobody’s watching so we’ll pass on the broadcasting rights. There’s a thing called a salary cap. Ever heard of it? If 4 players take half the money where does that leave every one else? I really hope they trade him.
Nobody bets on blah, blah, blah. People bet on everything from cockroach races to presidential elections. Does that mean that these players are worth more than a heart transplant surgeon, a paramedic, firefighter, cop, soldier,teacher of special education children. These people are people who make a difference. Chase catches footballs and does interviews. How exactly does that make a difference to every day people. WOW, you can make serious money, and you can lose everything that you hold dear. Friends, family, your job, your house, and even your life if you lose enough and can’t handle it. So, if the only reason you exist is because someone can make a lot of money betting on you, is that good enough?
Lots of iconic things disappear. Sears, Kmart, Toy’s are us etc. Why? They outlived their usefulness and people decided they weren’t getting value for their money. Look at the NBA, a few years ago they were riding high. People got tired of the propaganda, players crying about salaries,and now ratings are way down and people are okay with it. Whether LeBron makes 10 3’s doesn’t matter to the guy working 80 hours a week in a factory. Doesn’t affect his life at all. Nobody on earth is worth 50 million to play Football, 70 million to play baseball, or 60 to bounce a basketball it’s ridiculous, and for someone to believe they are is insane. The next time your kid gets sick call Chase to operate on him, or your house gets broken into call LeBron, or maybe your mom is in an accident and needs an ambulance, just call Ohtani, I’m sure he’ll be right there.
I never said their job was more important than a doctor, nurse, fire fighter, cop, teacher, etc, etc, etc,
I did say they generate $$$ for their job and boat loads of money at that. More than you and I will ever see in 10 life times. And what they earn reflects how much they bring in money wise.
When you live in a capitalistic society $$$ revenue profit are king. It drives everything.
Are sports athletes more important than previously listed jobs? No.
But, they’re profitable.
Theres tens hundreds of thousands of teachers doctors nurses fire fighters cops
Theres not too many guys who can do what Jamarr Chase does physically.
“People bet on everything from cockroach races to presidential elections”.
Or you could just bet that sometimes there’s no difference between the two 🙂
Soon enough we’ll be able to bet on Mrs. Andersons math class total GPA. And I can’t wait.
Over under on fire dispatches? Yep!
Recovery time for Dr. Millers acl repair? +1200 – 6 months.
@Man What Runs With the Football, are you a Communist?
Not on your life. Just a working guy for 45 years. If the NFL disappeared we would piss and moan about it, but it wouldn’t affect our day our day to day life. I’m putting sports in general in perspective. We don’t need them to live, they need us to watch the game to get paid. He catches a football, big deal, he’s not saving lives or doing anything that betters or causes despair in my life, so why do we need them?
I see what you’re saying, so why not start the revolution right now, comrade? I’d honestly suggest to make sure you go for the top dogs at the 1% and not the sports players.
The point is that Joe Burrow and JaMarr Chase are selfish jackasses who with their short-sighted greed are going to make sure their “dream team” breaks up before most of them get to their second contract.
They aren’t teammates or football players, they are just greedy egomaniacs. And like Dak Prescott in Dallas, they are about to doom their team to obscurity. The Patrick Mahomes success story is the exception, and even there Mahomes who really was the unicorn is only taking top five money. Just like Brady in New England.
I don’t know what is wrong with the celebrity lickspittles here who want to deprive another fifty guys of a decent wage to overpay one or two self-interested fat cats. Sure, if you want to fleece the billionaires, be my guest. But that means not a 50-50 revenue split (which in the history of capitalism is not bad at all) but a 70-30 revenue split.