Joe Burrow’s stocks rise after Bengals give Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins $276 million extensions

The Bengals risked losing Ja'Marr Chase or Tee Higgins, but Joe Burrow’s pressure ensured both got extensions.

Joe Burrow’s stocks rise after Bengals give Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins $276 million extensions

Joe Burrow (Image via IMAGO)

Joe Burrow played a big hand in the Cincinnati Bengals signing Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to new contracts. This will keep the Bengals competitive in the NFL for the next few years.

Burrow is widely regarded as one of the elite quarterbacks in the league alongside Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson. A large reason behind the Bengals reaching the Super Bowl in 2021 was the 28-year-old calling the shots from the center.

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It prompted the Bengals to tie him down to a long-term contract in 2023. He signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension, with an average annual salary of $55 million, becoming the highest-paid quarterback at that time.

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However, paying such an astronomical amount of money has a downside, and the Bengals entered that phase the following season. Even though Burrow, Chase, and Higgins dominated every defense they played, their own teams’ defense fell flat.

The Bengals conceded an average of 25 points per game and constantly ranked in the bottom half in almost every defensive metric. It resulted in the Bengals missing out on a playoff spot despite Burrow hitting a career-best 4918 yards and 43 passing touchdowns.

Even a kid could see that the Bengals needed to overhaul their defense; otherwise, the misery would continue. However, they chose to extend both Chase’s and Higgins’ contracts. Chase signed a four-year $161 million, with a $112 million guaranteed contract, becoming the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Higgins signed a four-year, $115 million contract with the first two years guaranteed, making him the highest-paid WR2 in the NFL.

Together they will earn north of $60 million, and by adding Burrow into the mix, the Bengals will spend more than $110 million each year.

Without Joe Burrow, the Bengals wouldn’t have given Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins new contracts

Chase and Burrow go way back. They played together at LSU and won the CFP title in 2019. Burrow bagged the Heisman Trophy while Chase was awarded the Fred Biletnikoff Award. The Bengals drafted both of them one year apart, but their connection remained.

Joe Burrow's stocks rise after Bengals give Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins $276 million extensions
Joe Burrow looks at Ja’Marr Chase (Image via IMAGO)

Chase established himself among the best receivers in the league alongside former LSU teammate Justin Jefferson, Eagles AJ Brown, and Cowboys CeeDee Lamb. He hit a new milestone in 2024 by achieving the triple crown: 127 receptions for 1708 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Higgins has also been prolific since entering the league, notching multiple 1,000-yard seasons. Last year he added 911 yards and 10 touchdowns.

It was certain that the Bengals weren’t going to let go of a generational talent like Chase. This made Higgins the odd one out and experienced back-to-back franchise tags due to the shortage of cash. 

Burrow began campaigning for the Bengals to pay both Chase and Higgins so that they could focus on chasing the Super Bowl.

We have started this thing [Super Bowl hunt] together. We came in together and 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 the 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 said earlier this year

The 2x Pro Bowler was even ready to renegotiate his contract to free up money to help the Bengals keep both Chase and Higgins. Eventually, Duke Tobin and Mike Brown caved in, paying both receivers.

If the Bengals didn’t have a competent quarterback like Burrow, then they might have let Higgins walk, as he was very close to asking for a trade before the tag was placed on him.

In a recent discussion between veteran Cincinnati journalist Joe Danneman and Cincinnati Magazine’s Charles Goldsmith, the subject of Burrow’s contribution to Chase and Higgins’ new contract came up. Goldsmith said Burrow deserves every bit of credit, along with the organization, for getting the job done.

Joe Burrow—you can put him up as an executive in the ring of honor.

Charles Goldsmith said

If the Bengals didn’t flunk in 2024, then Burrow was in a serious contention of becoming the NFL MVP. While it’s impossible to predict how the Bengals will fare in the future seasons, one thing is for sure: their offense is in the right hands.

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