The Cincinnati Bengals are keeping Joe Burrow’s top two targets for the long term.
Cincinnati has agreed to four-year contracts with wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, a team source said. Chase and Cincinnati reached a four-year, $161 million deal with $112 guaranteed, while Higgins — who Cincinnati used the franchise tag on last month — agreed to a four-year, $115 million contract with the first two years guaranteed, according to the source.
With his deal, Chase, 25, becomes the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. It marks the third time this offseason the record was broken — Chase broke the $40 million per year mark set by Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett, who broke the record set by Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby.
Higgins, 26, will avoid playing a second consecutive season on the franchise tag. And the Bengals will retain one of the best wide receiving duos in the NFL.
Drafted fifth by the Bengals in 2021, Chase has established himself as one of the best receivers in the league. Since entering the NFL, Chase leads the league in receiving touchdowns (46) and is third in receiving yards (5,425). He is one of only five players with 5,000 receiving yards over that span. In just four seasons, Chase is already fifth in receiving touchdowns and 10th in receiving yards among all Bengals receivers.
In 2024, he became the sixth wide receiver in NFL history to secure the triple crown, leading the league with 127 receptions, 1,708 yards and 17 receiving touchdowns. He earned first-team All-Pro honors for the first time, finished third in the Offensive Player of the Year voting and eighth in MVP voting.
Higgins played 12 games in 2024, collecting 73 catches for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns. A second-round pick in 2020, he has two 1,000-yard campaigns in five seasons.
Why the timing matters
The Bengals needed to be done waiting. They need to stop costing themselves money and causing themselves drama. Getting a deal done with Chase and Higgins pulls them out of the cycle of watching the cost go up.
Chase becomes the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL. Cincinnati always knew it would go there and spread the message loudly at the combine last month.
Higgins was the top free agent on the market prior to receiving the franchise tag and already went through an offseason of drama trying to receive his market value. His number rose as DK Metcalf signed in Pittsburgh for $33 million. The Bengals probably cost themselves at least $5 to $10 million by not doing the deals at the earliest moment, but can now finally go forward with building the team around what they believe to be the best passing game in the NFL.
Maybe more importantly, the Bengals can go forward without drama in training camp while needing a fast, drama-free start. Last year featured Chase holding-in, threatening not to play the opener, and the Bengals lost to the Patriots. They ended up missing the postseason by one game. It included Higgins with an offseason trade request and having to field contract questions all year, understandably concerned about staying healthy while battling soft-tissue injuries. Clearing these two deals now and not letting it linger into summer should go a long way to assuring Burrow and the offense hit the ground running. — Paul Dehner Jr., Bengals beat writer
Was this the right move?
At this point, the Bengals had no choice. They don’t have enough great players to pay. Too many young players have regressed and quality veterans have gone elsewhere. Burrow made clear what he wanted and the Bengals needed to pay somebody. You can do worse than two stars at premium positions in their primes with proof of concept alongside Burrow.
When healthy, Burrow, Chase and Higgins put the Bengals in position to win every time they step on the field. The issue moving forward will be the offensive and defensive line. The Bengals didn’t attack either with the necessary aggressiveness to fix last season’s issues and now must crush a draft where they only have six picks and find a gem or two in the third wave of free agency. Nothing about this was executed efficiently, but that doesn’t make the decision to pay Chase and Higgins the wrong one. — Dehner
What does this mean for Trey Hendrickson?
That part is still unknown. The Bengals’ focus was getting the deals done with the receivers first before turning attention to the 30-year-old NFL sack leader. They will need to find a resolution with Hendrickson, who they gave permission to seek a trade last week, but with the bulk of free agency already in the rearview mirror, the reality is the Bengals can’t afford to trade Hendrickson without receiving an edge rusher of some sort in return.
The cap relief allowed by switching Chase off a fifth-year option ($21.8 million) and Higgins ($26.1 million) off the franchise tag opens avenues to new discussions, but the Bengals hadn’t fully turned attention to those new numbers until the receiver deals were done. Hendrickson has taken issue with his contract for multiple years, so it isn’t exactly new territory for him or the club. — Dehner
(Photo of Chase: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)
