Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Ja'marr Chase is excited for his former college teammate, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Shortly after it was announced that Jefferson had agreed to a massive new contract extension with the Vikings, Chase took to Instagram to congratulate Jefferson.
"BREAK DA BANK! Congrats dawgy," Chase wrote.
Ja’Marr Chase on IG: pic.twitter.com/CTC6bCT9z6
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) June 3, 2024
The new deal makes Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Now, Chase's turn to cash in is next.
Chase celebrating his own good fortune?
In addition to celebrating his friends' success, Chase is probably also celebrating his own good fortune a bit, too. After all, Chase should be in line for a similar deal to the one that Jefferson got -- $140 million over four years with $110 million guaranteed -- and the Bengals pass-catcher actually wanted to wait for Jefferson to sign his deal and reset the market before putting pen to paper on his own extension.
"Hell yeah," Chase replied earlier this year when asked if Jefferson's negotiations would impact his own. Now that Jefferson has signed his contract, we have a much better idea of what kind of deal Chase is likely seeking. But when will it come?
According to a report from earlier this offseason, Chase is unlikely to receive an extension this offseason. After all, he's under contract for next season, and the Bengals could would until next offseason to extend him. But, now that Jefferson's contract is complete, it's fair to wonder why they would wait.
Chase is absolutely part of the organization's long-term plans, so the argument could be made that they should try to lock him up as quickly as possible to keep him happy. That might not happen, though, and ultimately Chase might have to wait a while to get compensated in a similar manner to Jefferson.