NFL REPORT: Ja’marr Chase will skip the entire regular season
CINCINNATI (WXIX) – The Bengals extended Ja’Marr Chase’s contract one year by exercising the team option, the franchise announced Wednesday.
The No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft is now signed through the 2025 season.
Picking up Chase’s fifth-year option was never a question.
A “no-brainer,” is how NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport described the Bengals’ decision.
Of course, Chase could get more than the $21.8 million in 2025 if he and the Bengals agree on a new contract before the fifth-year option kicks in.
What the star wide receiver’s next contract could look like heavily depends on the deal a former LSU teammate gets.
Justin Jefferson, who played with Chase and Joe Burrow on the 2019 national champion team at LSU, is due for a new contract.
Considered one of if not the best wide receiver in the NFL, Jefferson’s next deal would likely set the market with a record-breaking contract.
Jeff Diamond with the 33rd Team wrote on Jan. 24 that he predicts Jefferson’s extension will be $172.5 million over five years. That contract would make Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.
Chase’s market value, according to Spotrac, is calculated at a four-year deal for $104 million with an average salary of $26.1 million.
Those numbers would make Chase the fourth highest-paid wide receiver in the league.