Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins agree to record extensions with Bengals, at long last

Ja’Marr Chase will become the first receiver in NFL history to make $40 million per year. That’s just the latest record for the 25-year-old, who won the league’s receiving triple crown in 2024.

The star wide receiver and the Cincinnati Bengals have agreed to a four-year, $161 million deal with $112M million guaranteed, FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz reported. It’s the largest deal for a non-quarterback ever.

The Bengals were busy Sunday, also re-upping with receiver Tee Higgins. The 26-year-old has agreed to a four-year, $115 million extension, per Schultz, making Higgins the highest-paid WR2 ever.

The Bengals could have locked down Chase last September — and they almost did. According to Schultz, the two sides were “very, very close” to agreeing to a deal before the 2024 season began.

Instead, Chase continued to play under his rookie contract and subsequently upped his price. During the 2024 regular season, he led the NFL in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708) and touchdown receptions (17), while also becoming the first player in league history with at least 100 receptions, 1,700 receiving yards and 17 touchdown receptions in the same season.

Chase’s new deal ensures that one of the NFL’s best quarterback-wide receiver duos will remain together for the foreseeable future. Joe Burrow has been vocal about his desire for Cincinnati to extend both of his top two receivers.

Joe Burrow says ‘of course’ he’d restructure his contract to keep the Bengals’ core together | Breakfast Ball

The Bengals boasted the NFL’s No. 1 passing offense this past season, with a league-high 272.9 yards per game and 43 total touchdowns through the air. Despite the offense’s success, Cincinnati finished 9-8 and barely missed out on a playoff berth.

It’s been an up-and-down stretch for the Bengals since they took Chase with the fifth pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and reunited him with his quarterback at LSU.

Chase won Offensive Rookie of the Year (81 receptions, 1,455 receiving yards, 13 receiving touchdowns) in the 2021 season. He was also Burrow’s No. 1 target in the postseason, when the Bengals beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game before they fell short to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI.

After missing five games due to injury in 2022, Chase nearly helped the Bengals reach the Super Bowl again. However, the Bengals lost to the Chiefs in the AFC title game.

Chase was still highly productive in 2023 even with Burrow missing the final seven games of the season due to a wrist injury. He had 100 receptions for 1,216 yards and seven touchdowns over 16 games, earning a Pro Bowl nod for a third straight year. The streak was extended to four in 2024, when Chase was also named a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his career.

Last offseason, Chase became eligible for a new extension. Several other big-name receivers cashed in then, including Chase’s former LSU teammate, Justin Jefferson. The Minnesota Vikings made Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history at the time, signing him to a four-year, $140 million extension with $110 million guaranteed.

Now Chase has surpassed Jefferson’s then-record contract and has the long-term security that comes along with it.

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