The Cincinnati Bengals are pushing to finalize deals to keep their star receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
NFL Insider Ian Rapport has reported the Bengals are making progress on blockbuster deals for their star receivers. The saga between the Bengals front office and the top playmakers on the team has been the elephant in the room going back to last offseason. Last offseason, the Bengals couldn’t come to an agreement with Chase, who was going into the final two years of his rookie contract, while Higgins ended up being franchised tag as a free agent who couldn’t get a deal done before the 2024 season.
The #Bengals have made significant progress on massive contract extensions with star WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and both could be finalized in the coming days, sources tell me and @TomPelissero.
There is work to be done. But Joe Burrow’s wish is close to coming true. pic.twitter.com/rcIq2HHDiz
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 14, 2025
Contracts for Bengals’ Chase and Higgins Coming Together
After not coming to a contract extension last season, Chase followed it up with one of the best wide receiver seasons in league history. He earned himself the rare triple crown trophy, leading the league in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns at the receiver position, and was a finalist for the Offensive Player of the Year award. Higgins finished with 911 yards and ten touchdowns.
The Bengals front office vowed this offseason to get deals done with both players as Chase is now going into the last year of his rookie deal, and for the second year in a row, the Bengals franchise tagged Higgins to assure they give themselves enough time to get a deal done. At the NFL combine back in February, Bengals general manager Duke Tobin spoke on the importance of keeping Chase and Higgins.
“Our preference with Tee Higgins is to do a long term agreement,” Tobin told the media. “It always has been, and it continues to be something we want to do with Tee, and we’ll work hard to get that done. We are fortunate because we have a lot of really good football players and we are fortunate enough to be in position to try to fit them all in. “We have done well with our cap. We have low dead money, and we are in a position to sign these guys.”
“Ja’Marr is always going to be our priority,” Tobin said. “he’s a fantastic football player, and he’s going to end up being the number one paid non-quarterback in the league. We are there; let’s get it done.”
Since Tobin publicly decided to make Chase the highest-paid non-quarterback, a deal was made with Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns, who currently make $40 million a year. Reports are that Chase’s deal could average $40-41 million a year, surpassing Garrett and making him the highest-paid wide receiver by more than $5 million. Also, what could make these negotiations easier is that Chase and Higgins both share the same agent.
The news that the Bengals are keeping their top playmakers should come as good news to quarterback Joe Burrow. Burrow also made his sentiments public, saying that he wanted the Bengals to do all they could to keep their star players, and he was willing to restructure his contract to do so. Burrow enjoyed his best statistical season as a pro, throwing for 4,918 yards to go with 43 touchdowns and nine interceptions, so it’s easy to see why Burrow wants both Chase and Higgins back.
Teams across the league had been monitoring this Bengals situation, and many teams across the league have called with trade offers for the star receiver duo. Still, the Bengals turned each one down and opted to continue to work on getting deals done with their playmakers.
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