The Cincinnati Bengals have agreed to four-year extensions with receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, assuring that Joe Burrow will have his top two targets with him for some time.
A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that Chase will become the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, earning $161 million, including $112 million guaranteed. That surpasses the $40 million per year average by Cleveland pass rusher Myles Garrett.
Higgins will get $115 million. The Bengals placed the franchise tag on Higgins, but were hopeful of getting a new deal done.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the move.
Fox Sports was the first to report on the extensions.
Chase led the league in receptions (127), yards receiving (1,708) and touchdown catches (17) this past season, becoming just the sixth wide receiver in the Super Bowl era to achieve the receiving triple crown.
Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin reiterated recently at the NFL scouting combine that he wanted to make Chase one of the highest-paid players in the league.
“Ja’Marr is always going to be our priority,” Tobin said. “He’s a fantastic football player. He’s going to end up being the No. 1 paid non-quarterback in the league. We’re there. Let’s get it done.”
Chase leads the league in receiving touchdowns (46), third in receiving yards (5,425) and sixth in receptions (395) since being the fifth overall pick and AP Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2021.
He was an All-Pro selection for the first time in 2024 after having three games with at least 10 catches and 177 yards. That included 11 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-34 loss at Baltimore in a Thursday night game.
Higgins was tied for sixth in the league this past season with 10 touchdown catches. He also had 73 receptions for 911 yards and averaged 12.5 yards per catch.
His best game last season was on Dec. 28 against Denver, when he had 11 receptions for 131 yards and three touchdowns, including a 3-yard score in overtime that kept the Bengals alive for another week in the postseason chase. Cincinnati won its final five games to finish 9-8, but missed the playoffs for the second straight year.
“You can pull up three years ago, talking about doing a long-term deal with Tee and here we are today, still talking about doing a long-term deal,” Tobin said. ”Whenever I’m in charge of a football team, I want Tee Higgins and so I’m going to do what I can to get Tee Higgins.”
Higgins was a second-round pick by the Bengals in 2020, the same season Burrow was the top overall pick. Higgins has at least 900 receiving yards in four of his five seasons, and had more than 1,000 yards in 2021 and ’22.
The Bengals are also hoping to reach an extension with Trey Hendrickson despite the All-Pro edge rusher receiving permission to seek a trade. Hendrickson is also going into the final year of his contract after leading the league with 17 1/2 sacks last season.
“We have a lot of really good football players, fantastic football players. And we’re fortunate to be in a position where we can fit them all in. We’ve managed our cap well,” Tobin said. “We want a high payroll and low dead money, so the people that are in Cincinnati playing for us can get all the money.
“We want to re-sign these guys, reward them for their ability level and add to the football team. It’s a tall task, but we think we’re up to it.”
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AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Joe Reedy, The Associated Press
