Joe Burrow Rumors: 'Process Is Underway' with Bengals On Contract Extension

The "process is underway" regarding a contract extension between Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Fowler cautioned, however, that a final agreement "could take some time because of the complicated nature of these megadeals."

Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn discussed the situation with The Athletic's Jay Morrison on Wednesday:

"We've been thinking about it. But there's free agency and such. So we'll see if we can get into it a little bit more, maybe. It's hard to say exactly the pace. But we hope there's something that can get done. We sort of said we won't talk about it much until there's something to talk about."

Burrow is signed through the 2024 season, but became eligible this offseason to formally begin negotiations over a pact that will keep him in Cincinnati for the long haul.

Spotrac estimates Burrow's value to be $264 million over six years.

As Fowler noted, deliberations over a contract of this size are bound to be drawn out. For the purposes of expediency, this isn't a great time to be trying to tie down a young quarterback, either.

Like Burrow, Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts are free to agree to multiyear deals with the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively, while Lamar Jackson is available to the highest bidder.

Whoever signs first could help set the market for the other three, and the first player to take the plunge could see his earnings eclipsed in relatively short order. Going off the Spotrac valuation, Burrow could sign for $44 million annually, for example, only to see Herbert or Hurts collect $45 million or more.

That provides one incentive to wait around for a bit.

Some will wonder whether the Bengals themselves are the biggest hurdle to Burrow signing on the dotted line. The organization has a reputation for being thrifty in ways extending well beyond what it pays its players.

Cincinnati seems to recognize the opportunity it has with Burrow, someone who can almost single-handedly put the team in contention for a Super Bowl every year.

Trey Hendrickson, La'el Collins, Alex Cappa and Ted Karras arrived in free agency. Orlando Brown Jr. was the most recent big splash, with the four-time Pro Bowler signing for $64.1 million over four years.

Until a Burrow extension is finalized, many within the fanbase are nonetheless likely to remain cautiously optimistic.