The recent D.J. Moore contract extension brings focus back to Cincinnati Bengals wideout Ja’Marr Chase. That spotlight only furthers his argument for getting a contract extension immediately.
There has been a lot of talk about Chase and base salary. Don’t fall for the okie doke. His situation is perhaps worse than you imagined. Chase is currently on a contract that pays him $7.7M annually. That includes the 5th year option of $21.8 million. Thirty-seven wideouts make more than that per-year number. Chase is obviously far from the 38th-best wide receiver in the NFL.
One of those players making more per year than Cincinnati’s WR1 is Moore, who just signed the richest extension in the Bears’ history, with two years still remaining on his original deal.
Chase has two years left on his current deal. The difference is Moore was earning $20.6 million per year before signing his new contract. Again, Chase is making just $7,704,911 per year on his current contract, which includes that $21.8 million fifth-year option. His base pay for the upcoming 2024 campaign is just over $1 million. Keep in mind, this is a guy who made the Pro Bowl and went over 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons in the league.
It's time for the Bengals to pay up for their star receiver
The Bengals could conceivably try to nickel and dime their star receiver for the next three years -- 4th year of rookie deal, 5th-year option followed by a franchise tag. At the end of all that, he’d be 27 years old. Plus, what kind of message does that send to other players on the team, both present and future?
If the team and Chase’s representatives can’t agree on a fair contract, the contract dispute could continue well into the future. Then you should expect to hear something like, “They can’t pay a long-term big contract to a wideout who’s going to be in his 30s at the end of the deal.” The organization probably will not go that route. However, we are one step closer to that exact scenario.
Another way to analyze Chase’s current situation is that 22 different wide receivers make more guaranteed money than Chase. That includes rookie wideout Marvin Harrison Jr., who has yet to take a single snap in the NFL. And, just behind Chase on that list is another rookie, Malik Nabers.
Chase’s base salary is $1,055,000 this year. His singing bonus of $3,807,679 is part of his guaranteed bonus money from his rookie contract. As ESPN’s Louis Riddick pointed out on Get Up, Chase’s $4.8 million that he will earn ranks him 54th among wide receivers this season.
If you believe that Chase is a top-5 wide receiver in the NFL, you should also think he should get paid like one this year. However, if you believe he is one of the best receivers in the league, but he might have to wait another year, you are in lockstep with Mike Brown.
A new deal for Chase in the future rather than now will ultimately cost the team more in salary and cap space down the line. If the Bengals are not willing to pay him market value today, that value is only increasing, which suggests it won’t be easier to pay him what he deserves next year or the year after that.
Delayed decisions and actions won’t just cost the team valuable draft picks they’ve developed like Higgins and Bates. Procrastination could also mean missing out on a Trey Hendrickson-type impact player in the future. It could cost them being in on the best free-agent offensive lineman available two years from now when they will need one again.
Chase has exceeded his rookie contract
Chase’s situation fits perfectly into the way the CBA is structured. By every metric, Chase is a player who has exceeded his rookie contract. He is eligible for a new contract. The Bengals should take advantage of the ability to resign him after three years and give him a contract now. Not doing so, for him or any player in his situation, makes the ability for over-performing players on a rookie contract to negotiate after the third year essentially null and void.
A nonsensical argument espoused recently is Chase must wait until after his fourth year because Justin Jefferson had to. Jefferson should have signed an extension last year. Just because he wasn’t re-upped before the 2024 season does not mean Minnesota was correct in not doing so. Even the Vikings recognized they do not have to procrastinate securing new contracts for their best players. They wasted no time extending left tackle Christian Darrisaw to a four-year extension.
Darrisaw, a first-round pick from the same draft class as Chase, also had two years remaining on his rookie deal. It shows that teams can get it done when they want to. The Bengals should get a deal done with Chase. Now. He's earned it.