Report: Ja'Marr Chase's extension with Bengals expected to be in $40M per season range
It appears Ja'Marr Chase's ability to play the long game with the Cincinnati Bengals will indeed get him paid in a big way. The star wide receiver is expected to land a deal that will pay him between $40.2 million to $41 million per season, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The deal would put Chase ahead of other big-money wide receivers like fellow LSU wide receiver and Minnesota Vikings star Jordan Jefferson ($140 million over four years) and the Dallas Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb ($136 million over four years). It would also put Chase above Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett's $40 million/year salary as the highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported that the Bengals are also close to a deal with Tee Higgins, who earlier this month received the franchise tag for the second straight season.
The road to Chase's potentially huge windfall was contentious. He staged a "hold-in" last training camp, where he showed up to practices but didn't participate. That made for some awkward news conferences with head coach Zac Taylor.
Chase was on a four-year rookie deal and the Bengals picked up the option on a fifth year (2025) that was scheduled to pay him $21 million. He earned $9.8 million last season.
In response to the testy summer, Chase had the best season of his NFL career. He won the league's triple crown for wide receivers, where he led the league in touchdown catches (17), receptions (127) and receiving yards (1,708). It was the first time a receiver achieved the feat since the Los Angeles Rams' Cooper Kupp in 2021.
His best game of the 2024 season was against the Baltimore Ravens in November, when he had 11 catches for 264 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a tight 35-34 defeat on the road.
“He’s a fantastic football player,” Duke Tobin, the Bengals' director of player personnel, said at the NFL scouting combine. “He’s going to end up being the No. 1 paid non-QB in the league. We’re there. Let’s get it done."
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