A year ago, if you had told football fans—right after Ja’Marr Chase’s infamous training camp “hold-in” due to contract negotiations coming to a stalemate—that he’d not only stay in Cincinnati but also sign a record-breaking deal, they probably would’ve laughed you out of the room. Yet, here we are.
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Not only did Mike Brown & Co. lock down their WR1 with a massive four-year, $161 million contract, but they also made Tee Higgins one of the highest-paid WR2s in the league with a four-year, $115 million deal.
These two blockbuster extensions ensure that Joe Burrow will have his top weapons for years to come, preventing what could have been an offseason disaster. This is especially surprising because Cincinnati has a history of mishandling key roster decisions. So, what changed??
According to NFL Insider Ari Meirov, these deals weren’t just about rewarding elite talent—they were about keeping the Bengals’ franchise quarterback happy at all costs.
Meirov argued that Burrow’s strong statement during Super Bowl week in February—emphasizing the need for the Bengals to keep great players from leaving—had a major impact on the team’s management, led by Mike Brown and company.
The NFL insider speculated that Bengals management likely recognized just how special Burrow was and understood they couldn’t afford to ignore his demands. As a result, they went all out to lock down Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on long-term deals.
“They realized throughout all of this… that ‘We have a really special quarterback talent here in Joe Burrow. We cannot afford him getting frustrated and upset… He took us to the Super Bowl in his second year. He is an incredible player. We’re going to pay Ja’Marr. He also wants Tee Higgins done. Let’s make this happen and let’s pay them. We could make this happen if we want to make it happen,'” Meirov firmly stated.
For Bengals fans, Meirov’s words must be music to their ears because they have seen firsthand what happens when a franchise quarterback loses faith in the organization. The Carson Palmer saga left scars, and if the Cincinnati ownership were to let history repeat itself, it would have been the incompetence of the highest order.
That said, the good news for Bengals faithful didn’t end here.
Cincinnati Bengals finally moving on from their miserly ways?
For years, the Bengals have been known for their reluctance to guarantee contracts beyond the first year. But Meirov believes that mindset is changing—and not just for Burrow.
“The Bengals, for a long time, only guaranteed the first year of a contract. I think they changed their ways here… Joe Burrow was an exception, but I think they changed their ways also with Ja’Marr and Tee—with the structures of these contracts, which we’ll see in the coming days,” the analyst confidently added.
While it’s heartening to see the two Wide Receivers get the bag, what about the rest of the roster, especially the O-line that needs a complete overhaul? For some context, Burrow, Chase, and Higgins are taking up 44% of the Bengals’ cap space.
This means the team needs to use 56% of their cap space to maintain the rest of the roster while also building an offensive line that properly protects Burrow. And prevents him from taking 48 sacks like last season.
As Meirov pointed out, the real test comes next:
“Do they keep pushing this forward and say, ‘You know what? We’re going to pay more players. We’ll be more aggressive in free agency. We’ll restructure contracts. We’ll push contracts into the future. We’ll do things differently? Or do they go back to their old ways?”
For now, the Bengals have done what many thought was impossible. They’ve paid up their key players. They’ve prioritized Burrow’s wishes too in 2023. And they’ve given themselves a real shot at returning to the NFL’s mountaintop.
