There's no question that the Cincinnati Bengals will get a deal done with Ja'Marr Chase because, quite frankly, they'd be silly not to. The question that can be asked, however, is when the deal gets done and for how much?
Well, Chase apparently isn't pleased with how contract talks are going so far. On an Instagram post celebrating his 25th birthday, the final slide is a shot of what appears to be a calculator with a message that reads "Know Your Worth Then Add Tax".
This isn't a great thing for Bengals fans to see considering the team still needs to get a deal done with Tee Higgins as well. It appears the front office isn't on the same page with either of their top two receivers when it comes to their future extensions and that's frustrating.
Ja'Marr Chase sends cryptic update amid contract negotiations
Again, Bengals fans shouldn't be worried about a deal not getting done here. The Bengals clearly have shown they value keeping their offensive weapons for Joe Burrow, already re-signing Mike Gesicki and looking to extend Tee Higgins. Not keeping Chase would be incredibly foolish.
That being said, not giving Chase the kind of money he deserves and trying to low-ball him is not the way to go here. The front office needs to pony up and pay Chase what he's asking for.
It is a bit of a surprise that the Bengals are planning to keep both Chase and Higgins long-term but with Burrow not shying away from vocalizing how much he wants everyone to stick around, the front office needs to do what it can to keep their franchise quarterback happy. Once this deal is done, the drama hopefully will stop but right now, Chase is frustrated that he's not getting the kind of offers from his team that he feels he deserves.
No one can blame the guy for that. After all, Chase has been a rockstar since arriving to Cincinnati as the fifth overall pick in the 2021 draft and is coming off his best season yet with 1,708 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns in 17 games. He's done everything asked of him and it's time for the Bengals to stop low-balling him and pay Chase what he deserves.