With the start of the 2024 NFL regular season just days away, the Cincinnati Bengals find themselves racing against time to secure a contract extension for star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
The pressure is rapidly mounting, and the situation is becoming increasingly tense.
Chase, who has been conducting a “hold-in” by attending practices without participating, remains without a new deal.
The Bengals are no strangers to last-minute contract negotiations, as evidenced by quarterback Joe Burrow’s extension last year. However, this time, the stakes might be even higher.
Reports suggest that the discussions could turn sour if a deal isn’t reached soon.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk warned, “The simple truth is that it has been ugly, and there’s a good chance that, if Chase doesn’t get his deal by Thursday of this week, it could get a lot uglier.”
Over the weekend, there were signs of progress. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Bengals had stepped up their urgency in finalizing a deal with Chase.
“From what I’m hearing, the Bengals have intensified their efforts to try to get this done in recent days,” Fowler reported. “They are hopeful to get him back out on the practice field because he’s been that hold-in. On Monday, they want to get this going and get him under contract on a deal that will be well above $30 million per year on average. So, nothing is imminent.”
Notably, Chase’s current contract still has two years remaining.
The 2024 season is part of his original rookie deal, and the Bengals exercised his fifth-year option for 2025, meaning he is under contract for $21.8 million in that season.
However, Chase is reportedly seeking a deal comparable to what Justin Jefferson received – a four-year, $140 million contract with over $88 million fully guaranteed.
Chase has been instrumental to the Bengals’ success since his rookie season, helping lead them to the Super Bowl in his first year.
However, the team has faced setbacks since then, including a loss in the 2022 AFC Championship to the Kansas City Chiefs and a disappointing 9-8 finish last year, which of course had everything to do with Joe Burrow’s devastating wrist injury.
One key issue in the negotiations is how the Bengals structure the deal.
According to CBS Sports’ John Breech, the team might spread out the contract over more seasons to create a more favorable cap situation.
“For the Bengals, the advantage of doing a deal now is that they would be able to spread out Chase’s cap hits over six seasons,” Breech explained. “If the Bengals matched Jefferson’s deal (or gave him one cent more), they’d have Chase under contract for the next six years for a total of $162.88 million or $27.15 million per year, which sounds much more team friendly than $40 million per year.”
With the Bengals season opener against the New England Patriots rapidly approaching, time will tell what becomes of the tense situation.
As talented as the Bengals are, if they hope to hoist the Lombardi this season, a fully engaged Chase would certainly go a long way towards accomplishing that.
What do you think ends up happening?
Would the Bengals be in trouble in the AFC North if they have to move on without Chase???