A Plea For Patience With Ja’Marr Chase’s Extension
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With the NFL now fully transformed into a passing-dominated league, wide receivers are experiencing a salary boom unlike any other. Justin Jefferson openly said he wanted to break the bank with his new contract, and then he did; he received a 4 year contract from the Vikings worth $140 million and $110 guaranteed. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle both received extensions from the Dolphins worth $30 million and $28.25 million a year, respectively. Elsewhere, Calvin Ridley received a 4 year, $92 million contract from the Titans, furthering the notion that everything in Nashville is way more overpriced than it should be.
With all of those receivers garnering significant pay raises, Cincinnat’s star receiver is looking for an extension of his own.
Friendly reminder that Ja’Marr Chase is that dude pic.twitter.com/A5kNR2n791
— We Like The Bengals (@FUWLTBengals) August 23, 2024
Fun fact: this was my poster. There was an unused poster board in section 156 (the best section in the stadium) of Paycor Stadium with “We miss #28” written on it in honor of Joe Mixon. I asked the fan next to me if it was being used, and he said it wasn’t. I then turned the poster around, tracked down a couple Sharpies, and wrote that very clear message to the Bengals organization. It even made an appearance on the Jumbotron!
Like his peers CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Aiyuk, Chase has skipped practices due to a lack of a long term contract extension. There’s even the concerning possibility that Chase will sit out in the regular season if a contract extension is not agreed to. However, on Sunday, Chase made headlines by participating in a practice for the first time since his contract dispute with the team ramped up.
Sources: #Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase practiced today.
No new contract yet. But for the first time in camp, Chase was on the field. pic.twitter.com/7pY6afxDcp
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 25, 2024
“He’s not touching the field,” Bengals legend Chad Johnson said. “Certain players (can) separate their love for the game and business. If it was me, I’d have been out there practicing, deal or no deal, I don’t care. But on the business side of things, Ja’Marr, his team, they understand now, and this is the only way to get deals done.”
The irony of all this is that despite that poster, and despite Bengals’ fans consistent worries that he’ll hold out into the regular season, there should be no reason for concern. The organization is fully aware of his ability to do exactly what a number one receiver should do: put up consistently strong statistics while elevating everyone around him due to the opposing defense giving him extra attention. He is too elite of a player for the Bengals to allow him to sit out in the regular season, particularly with the Bengals playing the rival Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead in Week 2.
The Bengals have made a habit of waiting until the last minute to agree to extensions with their players. Joe Burrow received his extension the moment the NFL season kicked off on Thursday night during Week 1. At the wide receiver position, A.J. Green agreed to a four year extension two days before the Bengals kicked off the 2015 season.
With that, I plead patience with Ja’Marr Chase’s contract extension.
The truth is, there is no better WR1 for Joe Burrow than Ja’Marr Chase. They’ve had years of a rapport in college at LSU, in addition to three years in the NFL. They’ve been arguably the most talented QB-WR tandem in the league since Chase was drafted. He’s a premium wide receiver who wants to be paid a premium price, and rightfully so; his production is on par with his wealthy peers. He’s not getting a team-friendly price, nor should he. That’s like if I walked into a Porsche dealership and asked if they’d sell me any of their luxury cars for a Schubes-friendly price.
Believe it or not, this is exactly the kind of situation you want to be in three years after you select a player with the fifth overall pick. Ja’Marr Chase has fully lived up to his draft status, as he’s been a Pro Bowler and a 1,000 yard receiver in each of his first three seasons in the league. With that, the Bengals now have a good problem on their hands: they have a star player on their roster, and they need to figure out how to keep him long term. By contrast, the Jets selected Zach Wilson three picks before Chase, and they had to figure out how to move on from him three years after making him their franchise quarterback. In addition, they not only had to figure out how to start from scratch, but they’ll have to do so again in the near future, as Aaron Rodgers is entering his age 41 season.
Even with the elite wide receiver-less Chiefs being the anomaly that they are, top tier pass catchers elevate entire offenses and are now worth every penny. As Bengals fans certainly remember, Cooper Kupp set the record for most yards from scrimmage in a season in 2021 (1,965 yards) and was the major catalyst in the Bengals’ loss to the Rams in the Super Bowl. That season, Chase had an elite season of his own, as he ranked fourth in the NFL with 1,455 receiving yards, in addition to ranking third with 13 touchdowns. His elite production as the top pass catcher in the Bengals’ offense played a huge role in the Bengals reaching the Super Bowl for the first time since two days after George H.W. Bush was inaugurated as President.
The salary cap is increasing year after year, and wide receivers are getting significantly more expensive by the minute. The Bengals would be wise to stop sitting on their hands and pay Ja’Marr Chase whatever he wants, and they will. Even though the majority of Bengals fans are getting more impatient with each passing day that Chase will sit out, the organization knows full well that going into the season without investing in their star receiver will be, at best, irresponsible. Even Ochocinco knows this.
“Ja’Marr’s deal will get done, probably sometime this week, definitely before the season starts,” Johnson said. “Because I’m sure Joe Burrow will probably grow frustrated at some point not having his top receiver out there.”
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