“He wants to beat Jefferson” – Ja’Marr Chase reportedly rejected $35 million per year salary from the Bengals, fans react
Bengals came very close to signing Ja'Marr Chase with a $35 million per year deal but he rejected the offer sparking huge reaction from fans.
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Ja'Marr Chase (Via Imago)
The Cincinnati Bengals’ star wide receiver is awaiting his contract extension and he isn’t ready to compromise on the number he deserves. After a long hold-out in the offseason to use as leverage in the contract negotiations, Ja’Marr Chase didn’t abandon his team in the season opener and logged 6 catches for 62 yards.
Since Chase is a significant part of the Bengals’ strong offense, the team is genuinely willing to sign him. And interestingly, they came very close to making it official and put a $35 million per year salary deal on the table, but didn’t receive the response they expected, as reported by James Rapien of Bengals on SI.
It turns out the star wideout rejected the proposed offer, which included a guaranteed money of $90 million. He is speculated to want a record-breaking extension that would redefine the receivers’ market as the Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson did this offseason.
People I spoke to around the league expected the Bengals to pay him somewhere very close to the top of the receiver market, possibly somewhere between CeeDee Lamb ($34 million per year) and Justin Jefferson ($35 million). If that's the case, it sounds like the proposal wasn't enough.ESPN’s Jeremy Flower confirmed.
The three-time Pro Bowler is currently under a contract with the Bengals for the 2025 season as the team picked up the fifth-year option of his deal, this gives him two more seasons to finalize his extension which may truly break all prior records.
Fans react to Ja’Marr Chase rejecting $35 million per year deal
Fans have taken Chase’s rejection of the $35 million deal quite surprising. Many directly associated it with his previous statement about shattering Jefferson’s deal, claiming he would “beat the s*** out of Justin.”
One fan wrote, “We know this…. hex wants to beat Jefferson,” while another wrote, “His pride is getting in the way. Ceedee and Justin Jefferson are better.” Here are some of the fan reactions:
Some fans even criticized the former Offensive Player of the Year for rejecting such a lucrative deal and making his pride an obstacle for himself. While many claimed Jefferson and the second-highest-paid CeeDee Lamb were better than Chase and that’s why they got a better deal that reset the market.
Fans find it very hard to believe why the receiver rejected such a huge amount, which is in no matter not enough. Jefferson is currently the highest-paid WR in NFL history and earns a $35 million per year salary.
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Pratyusha Srivastava
(2147 Articles Published)