The Specter Of Parity Is Coming For the Bengals
Phil Didion/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
Consider this an open letter to every die-hard Cincinnati Bengals fan: The Tee Higgins / Ja’Marr Chase salary cap drama is not unique to your team. In a way, it’s almost the way things are supposed to go. For there is a not-so-secret reality every team and its fanbase must deal with from time to time that makes the NFL an experience of enjoying the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
Your team is supposed to stink sometimes – and your team’s star wide receiver is all a part of the game.
The return of EA Sports “College Football 25” may be the talk of the sports video game world, but as anyone who’s played the EA’s “Madden” series can tell you, the salary cap can wreck a team. Not only can it wreck a team, it does so by design, regardless of what your team’s star wide receiver(s) think they deserve. It’s called parity, which is the guiding principle of the NFL.
For some reason, while the NFL has risen to the top spot of American sports because of parity, many of its players have failed to realize something simple: They all can’t make top dollar. That’s why teams are so unmoved to give in to their star’s demands, which for some reason in the last 10-15 years has become a point of contention for the wide receiver position.
And this brings up back to Higgins and Chase, who are both eligible for lucrative contract extensions, though most believe Chase will get his in Cincinnati, and Higgins will get his elsewhere. As most Bengals fans know, Joe Burrow’s franchise quarterback status finally became reflected in the salary cap when he signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension on Sept. 9, 2023. And with Burrow making top dollar, again we’re tapping the sign: You can’t pay everyone top dollar.
So who is most important? In the games in which Burrow was healthy last season, the Bengals went 4-1, with wins over the playoff-bound Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills, and eventual NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. But once the wrist on this throwing hand went snap, crackle, and pop, that was essentially all she wrote for the 9-8 2023 Bengals.
In the five games that Chase has missed over his career, however, the Bengals are 3-2. Likewise, the Bengals are 4-4 without Higgins. Take one of those guys away, and Cincinnati is still a .500 team or better.
For years, baseball’s stat nerds have been in love with a stat called WAR, which stands for Wins Above Replacement. The idea is simple: Take a player away from a team, and how many wins does that cost them? At 3-2 and 4-4, the WAR over their careers, the gap between Chase and Higgins suggests they’re essentially interchangeable.
Now, anyone with eyes that work knows that both have a high level of talent. But how much more talented is Higgins over, say, third-round pick Jermaine Burton or second-year player Andrei Iosivas? Is the drop-off in WAR going to be that much? Is the upside of keeping Higgins worth tying so much cap space into their top two wide receivers, especially with Burrow leading the offense?
Your favorite team, save for the 2000 Baltimore Ravens and perhaps the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is only going as far as their star QB takes them. Cincinnati has that, and everything else is secondary. Don’t believe me? Just look at how many teams have had to deal with significant wide receiver issues recently.
The Buffalo Bills moved Stefon Diggs earlier this offseason, Brandon Aiyuk has submitted a trade request to the 49ers, and now CeeDee Lamb is holding out with the Dallas Cowboys. That’s all within the last few months.
And don’t forget last season’s awful receiving corps with the Kansas City Chiefs after they traded Tyreek Hill. Did that slow them down? Count the rings: They’re two-for-two since trading the wideout who is now the No. 1 player on the NFL’s Top 100. As Patrick Mahomes demonstrated, a great quarterback can win even when he’s saddled with barely competent receiving weapons.
So, back to the point: Are you bummed out that this is the last year the trio of Burrow, Chase, and Higgins together? It’s a part of the game. If the Bengals hit a rough patch next year after losing a star wide receiver, then guess what? That’s part of the game, too.
In short, every team wants to keep its stars. The system that makes it exciting to think that the Bengals could rebound from a disappointing 2023, however, is structured to keep pieces moving around the league so fans stay glued to the action. Teams can only use the franchise tag on a player three times, and the value increases each time. At some point you have to let go, and the Bengals are nearing it with Higgins.
Hopefully, Chase and Higgins both get the contracts they want. Bengals fans, however, should guard against the hope that their team pulls off what the Dolphins did, signing both their star receivers while also paying their franchise quarterback a record amount. It’s probably not going to happen, and it’s probably not worth it. But don’t worry – once the unknown team pays for Higgins, they’re likely going to have to cut another star player to afford them. And if they begin to stink, well… It’s a part of the game, too.
Parity comes for us all, and while a franchise quarterback is as mighty a bulwark against it as is possible in the NFL, setbacks are inevitable. As you prepare to see a stud like Higgins leave the Queen City, take a breath and relax: It’s part of the game.
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