The two Cincinnati Bengals receivers have no more questions attached as both have been signed for years to come, but there are still problems.
Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase’s contract conversation has reached the next stage in the NFL zeitgeist. After months (and in Higgins’ case, years) of speculation about how a deal would get done and if one would, the two wide receivers are locked up for the foreseeable future.
The Cincinnati Bengals locked up Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins for the rest of their 20s. Higgins’ deal expires after the 2028 season and Chase’s deal expires after the 2029 season. In other words, Joe Burrow doesn’t have anything to worry about with his receivers anymore.
Ja’Marr Chase had his own reaction to the news, but the rest of the NFL had their own as well, starting with Shannon Sharpe.
Shannon Sharpe calls out Bengals owner Mike Brown
Speaking on a March 17 edition of “First Take,” NFL analyst Shannon Sharpe expressed surprise at the Bengals choosing to spend on both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in one fell swoop. He wasn’t shy about his opinion of the owner partially in charge of the spending, Bengals owner Mike Brown.
“I’m surprised. I didn’t think they could get it done. [Whether they could] get it done and whether or not Mike Brown was going to spend the money. We know Mike Brown’s cheap. I mean, he squeezed the dollar so tight, you can hear the eagle screaming because he got the dollar clutching it so tight, because he ain’t trying to let go of any money. But he did it. He paid 40-plus million dollars, and it was the same thing.”
“It’s better to sign guys early than to sign them late, because you pay a premium, because you pay them what they’re worth, and then they add you a surcharge. And that’s what that’s what Chase did. That’s what Tee Higgins did,” he said.
According to Spotrac, Ja’Marr Chase is due $161 million with his new extension. Tee Higgins is due $115 million.
Shannon Sharpe on the pitfall of paying Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase
The former Broncos tight end and NFL pundit Shannon Sharpe also warned about the implication that comes with signing both receivers.
“In the process of doing that, you compromise an already compromised defense. Now Hendrickson, it’s going to be interesting. He’s going to want 30-plus million dollars. So if you sign him and you give him 30 plus million, basically over half of your salary cap is tied up in four players. How do you build a defense?”
There’s only so much money to go around. One consequence to having a long list of young talented players is that eventually, those talented players cost a lot more. Now the Bengals will be forced to get creative in the NFL Draft and finding ways to stretch the dollar in other ways.
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