Cowboys give Ja'Marr Chase ultimate leverage in Bengals contract negotiations

What a rollercoaster of an offseason for the Cincinnati Bengals and their wide receiver room. Going from a Tee Higgins contract and trade situation to now, more recently, the contract status of Ja'Marr Chase, has had fans wondering just when it will all end.

Fortunately, Chase was recently back at Bengals practice for the first time since the contract dispute began, which might have signaled that this will all be over soon.

Another reason to believe this will all be over soon? One more of Chase's peers just got paid.

First it was Justin Jefferson, who secured a 4-year, $140 million deal. Now, the Dallas Cowboys and CeeDee Lamb have a deal. Lamb is getting four years and $136 million.

With the likes of Jefferson and Lamb signed, now, all of the pressure is on Cincinnati to get Chase his deal. But the question now becomes, what is Chase's new contract going to look like? What does he deserve?

Will Ja'Marr Chase get more money than CeeDee Lamb or Justin Jefferson?

With Jefferson making $35 million annually, on average, and Lamb making $34 million annually, on average, that should put Chase right around the same numbers.

Most would agree that Jefferson deserves to be the top-paid wideout in the league, but does Chase deserve more money than Lamb? It might be a toss-up, when it's all said and done.

Lamb is coming off a season that saw him tally 1,749 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on 135 receptions. Meanwhile, Chase had 100 catches for 1,216 yards and seven scores in 2023.

Without looking into the numbers, Bengals fans might immediately hold to the opinion that Chase is a better player than Lamb; maybe not by much, but it's worth arguing. However, the numbers actually favor Lamb, overall. Lamb is only one year older than Chase, and is coming off a much more productive year than the Bengals star. Lamb was an All Pro last year, Chase was not.

Granted, Chase didn't get a full season of Joe Burrow, so he has that to work in his favor as well.

Diving deep into the numbers, you could say it's apples and oranges. But, I think Bengals fans will still try and argue Chase is the superior player -- and Chase probably would, too, with all due respect to Lamb.

Both receivers are in the midst of three-straight Pro Bowls, three-straight 1,000-yard seasons and are quite easily top-3 receivers in the game, alongside Jefferson.

In the end, it would make perfect sense for the Bengals to give Chase a deal for four years, with an annual average of $34.5 million.

Regardless of how either side feels about numbers, though, Chase certainly has his leverage, now. Jefferson and Lamb got their deals. Now, it's his turn, and he's likely letting the team know exactly that, as we speak.