Where do Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins's new salaries rank among NFL wide receivers?
The Cincinnati Bengals are sticking with what (kind of) works. After back-to-back nine-win campaigns built around an explosive offense, Cincinnati decided to invest heavily in its all gas, no brakes approach.
That meant two expensive extensions to keep what may be the league's top wide receiver tandem in Ohio. Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase signed a pair of four-year deals this offseason, paying them a combined $276 million through the lengths of their contracts. That means the annual average salaries of Higgins, Chase and quarterback Joe Burrow represent a whopping 44 percent of the 2025 NFL salary cap and roughly 41 percent of 2026's estimated spending limit.
That's a lot of money. Chase's four-year, $161 million contract doesn't just make him the richest wideout in the league, it makes him the highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history. He'll make 15 percent more in annual salary than Justin Jefferson, a player whose 94 receiving yards per game are currently a league record. His guaranteed money, $112 million, is comparatively more modest. It's still a record among wide receivers (Jefferson's four-year, $140 million deal in 2024 clocked in at $110 million) but only third-most among non-quarterbacks.
Where do Chase and Jefferson's new contracts stand among the rest of the NFL's wideouts? Let's start with average salary. Numbers are via Spotrac:
- Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals: $40,250,000 (four years, $161 million)
- Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings: $35,000,000 (four years, $140 million)
- CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys: $34,000,000 (four years, $136 million)
- D.K. Metcalf, Pittsburgh Steelers: $33,000,000 (four years, $132 million)
- A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles: $32,000000 (three years, $96 million)
- Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions: $30,002,500 (four years, $120,010,000)
- Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers: $30,000,000 (four years, $120 million)
- Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins: $30,000,000 (three years, $90 million)
- Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals: $28,750,000 (four years, $115 million)
- Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins: $28,250,000 (three years, $84.75 million)
Here are the top 10 NFL wide receivers when it comes to total guaranteed money when they signed their contracts.
- Ja'Marr Chase, Bengals: $112 million
- Justin Jefferson, Vikings: $110 million
- CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys: $100 million
- A.J. Brown, Eagles: $84 million
- D.J. Moore, Chicago Bears: $81,525,000
- Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions: $77 million
- Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers: $76 million
- Jaylen Waddle, Dolphins: $76 million
- Tyreek Hill, Dolphins: $59 million
- Deebo Samuel, Washington Commanders: $58.1 million
Higgins's guaranteed money hasn't yet been been revealed, but it's reported to be the first two years of his contract. That should place him toward the back of the top 10, likely ahead of Hill's $59 million in Miami.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Who are NFL's highest-paid receivers after Ja'Marr Chase's megadeal?
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