Cincy Jungle
Last offseason, it appeared the Bengals and Ja'Marr Chase had a deal, but it fell through at the end.
The Cincinnati Bengals are going to make Ja'Marr Chase the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. This, according to director of player personnel Duke Tobin.
There is still a matter of agreement on what that looks like in the contract structure, but Tobin seems confident the two sides will make it happen.
For what it’s worth, while speaking at the NFL Combine, Tobin indicated that Chase seemingly changed his mind about something during contract talks the last time around, which helped lead to the deal falling through after many thought it was on the verge of completion.
“He changed his mind, which is fine,” Tobin said. “We understood. There’s no hard feelings in this stuff. I don’t get angry about this stuff. It’s just business. We’re looking out for the 53 players on this team, and a lot of times, they’re looking out for the one. It’s their agent’s job to look out for the one, and they have to understand it’s my job to look out for the totality.”
It certainly is easy to give Chase that deal after he just finished the 2024 season with the receiving triple crown (leading the league in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns). It is like when a quarterback wins the Super Bowl in a contract year, you know he is going to get paid.
As for what changed during talks last year, Tobin is referring to how the two sides couldn't agree on a contract last offseason despite being closer than many remember it.
Last offseason, the two sides reportedly had an agreement in place on a contract, but Chase's side reportedly backed out due to a disagreement on the guaranteed money that was included.
That will likely still be a sticking point here as Cincinnati isn't a fan of huge guaranteed money, despite seemingly being the last team in the NFL to try and fight that losing battle. That battle is going to cost them a lot of money in the long run, as Chase clearly has the high ground here with receiver contracts exploding.
They likely will still end up having to give a huge guaranteed number to get this deal done, but they will probably find it easier to make an exception with how important Chase has proven to be.
Ultimately, it is probably going to be the sole reason this deal takes any kind of negotiating at the end of the day.
