$80 million Contract: Cincinnati Bengals player contract extension

Last offseason, one of the most talked about stories of the Cincinnati Bengals offseason was their negotiations with star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. In what was a fairly quiet negotiation, it got more public towards the end.

Ultimately, the teams couldn’t come to an agreement after reported disagreements about cash flow. Chase sat out for all of training camp and the preseason before deciding to play in Week 1.

Chase went on to lead the NFL in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708) and receiving touchdowns (17). It is safe to say Chase will ask for (and likely get) a good amount more than he asked for last summer if the two teams come to an agreement.

When speaking with The Enquirer at the Senior Bowl, Bengals Director of Personnel Duke Tobin did express confidence that the two sides will come to an agreement.

“It’s a priority for us,” Tobin said. “It’s something we feel like there’s a framework to work off of. Should be a pretty easy framework to work off of. Guys in his position have recently re-done contracts. We believe in Ja’Marr, he’s very important to us. The other guys that have done contracts are very important to their teams. So, we believe there’s a real framework to work off of. I would expect that we could come together on something that makes sense for both sides.”

The “framework” is likely some of the details from the extension last offseason that came close, but ultimately didn’t get executed. Chase mentioned that a “few numbers needed to be switched around,” so it doesn’t appear that the two sides were all that far apart.

Chase’s contract is the second most important negotiation in team history, second only to Joe Burrow’s extension. The Bengals recognize that they have an elite-level player, and it sounds like they plan to pay him as such.

Now, we hope it gets taken care of quickly so the team can retain Tee Higgins and work out an extension for Trey Hendrickson.

We are entering one of the most important offseasons in Bengals history.