Bengals go all in! Lock up Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins with record breaking extensions

Despite tight cap space and months of speculation, the Bengals extended Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, making them the highest-paid WR1 and WR2 in NFL history.

Bengals go all in! Lock up Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins with record breaking extensions

Bengals award Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins with new contracts (Image via IMAGO)

The Cincinnati Bengals brass finally budged and broke the bank to give both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins new contracts. They are now the highest-earning wide receivers, one and two, in the NFL.

The Bengals needed to sign both Chase and Higgins, but their salary demands were extremely high. On top of it, the Bengals only boast a $26.4 million salary cap to work with, creating difficulties to sign new deals.

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However, general manager Duke Tobin pulled off the once-thought-impossible feat. NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that the Bengals agreed to new contract extensions with both Chase and Higgins.

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How much will Ja’Marr Chase earn from his new contract extension with the Bengals?

According to Schultz, Ja’Marr Chase is set to sign a 4-year, $161 million deal with $112M guaranteed. It makes him the highest-earning non-quarterback in NFL history.

Bengals go all in! Lock up Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins with record breaking extensions
(#5) Tee Higgins and (#1) Ja’Marr Chase (Image via ESPN)

Chase was always confident that the Bengals would listen to his request. When asked to put a number to his desired salary, Chase revealed he wanted something equivalent to his output on the football field.

I hope I get what’s fair at the end of the day and you know…I hope I don’t put too much pressure on anyone I just want it to be fair that’s all… Fair is just you know what I deserve. I can’t really say everything I want to say but it’s what I deserve, it’s what I worked for, how hard I worked for. It’s a written story already, it should be fair change.

Ja’Marr Chase said

Despite the Bengals’ abysmal season, Chase won the triple crown in 2024. He led the league with 127 receptions for 1708 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns.

Chase has been phenomenal for the Bengals after taking him in the 2021 draft. In 62 games, he contributed 395 receptions for 5425 receiving yards (13.7 yards per catch) and 46 touchdowns.

The 25-year-old will earn $1 million extra compared to Myles Garrett, who signed a four-year, $160 million deal ($40 million per year). However, Garrett has $123 million in guaranteed money.

Chase will also earn more than his former LSU teammate and the Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson. The former first-rounder signed a four-year, $140 million deal with $110 million in guaranteed money.

Right behind Chase is the Dallas Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb. Following Jefferson’s extension, the Cowboys gave Lamb a four-year, $136 million contract with $100 million guaranteed and a $38 million signing bonus.

How much will Tee Higgins earn from his new contract extension with the Bengals?

While Chase was locked to get a new deal, Higgins’ situation was far more complicated. Drafted in the same year as quarterback Joe Burrow, Higgins had to digest two back-to-back tags before finally bagging big money.

Following consecutive seasons with 1000+ receiving yards, the Bengals saw Higgins as an important part of the offense, but not the WR1; that was still Chase. They let Higgins play out his fourth year of his rookie contract and placed the franchise tag to tie him down for an additional year. He eventually signed a one-year deal with a base salary of $21.8 million.

Everyone thought after Super Bowl LIX, Higgins might get an extension or the Bengals would release him. Burrow pressured the Bengals brass to keep the former second-round pick on the team.

We have started this thing [Super Bowl hunt] together. We came in together and the built the same from the ground up and you don’t want to make a habit of letting great players get out of the building. Tee is a guy that does everything right way and works really hard for it. When you have a guy like that, you just can’t let him get out of the building.

Joe Burrow had said

However, the Bengals repeated the same tactic once again this year. They placed a second franchise tag on Higgins, making sure no other team steals him away from them unless he requests a trade. The move made his mother very angry.

In the meantime, the Bengals continued negotiating with Higgins’ representatives. Eventually, they agreed to a 4-year, $115M contract with the first two years guaranteed. According to Schultz, the extension made Higgins the highest-paid WR2 in NFL history.

Higgins, in 70 games for the Bengals, has caught 330 passes for 4595 receiving yards and scored 34 touchdowns. The trio of Burrow, Chase, and Higgins will be back for the Bengals in 2025.

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