6 NFL Players Most Likely to Face Contract Disputes Next Season
The dawn of NFL training camp means that contract negotiations are bound to take center stage in the news cycle.
This year, there are several situations worth monitoring with varying levels of panic involved. From Saquon Barkley to Quinnen Williams, there are numerous stars whose contract negotiations are far from settled.
Training camp often ends up being a stage and catalyst to get long-term deals done. It's an opportunity for players to sit out and make their absence felt in a way that won't have a major impact once the season actually gets started.
Managing the salary cap and paying out major contracts to those who have earned them isn't always easy, especially for teams that are fortunate enough to have multiple players who deserve top-of-the-market deals.
The best teams do a good job of projecting where the contract disputes will be and come up with a plan.
So, now's a good time to break out the crystal ball and look ahead to see where the contract disputes around the league might be next season.
WR Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
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The Cincinnati Bengals have enjoyed the benefit of having one of the most explosive passing attacks in the league at a discounted price over the last few seasons.
Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins represent one of the best quarterback-receiver trios in the league, and they cost under $20 million combined against the cap last season.
The rent is coming due soon, though.
Over the next three years, the Bengals are going to have to pay Burrow, Chase and Higgins lucrative deals. Using Spotrac's current market value projections, the trio will combine for $99.4 million in annual average value.
The bad news for Cincinnati is that Spotrac's $25.5 million projection for wide receiver Chase is likely to be outdated by the time it gets to the negotiation table.
Still, both sides could get antsy to get a new deal done. Justin Jefferson is likely to reset the market and could become the league's highest-paid non-quarterback.
That's going to be a tough hurdle for Cincinnati to overcome, whenever those negotiations may happen. Chase has already established himself as one of the top receivers in the league with 2,501 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns in his first two seasons.
Chase and Higgins have made life easy for the Bengals offense.
That advantage is about to get a lot more expensive.
CB Trevon Diggs, Dallas Cowboys
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The Cowboys are a team with a lot of important financial decisions on the horizon. Dak Prescott's current deal expires after the 2024 season but also carries $36.5 million in dead cap because 2025 is currently a void year in the deal.
CeeDee Lamb is also eligible for an extension. They've picked up his fifth-year option, but that could just wind up being a placeholder if they can come to a long-term agreement.
That brings us to Trevon Diggs.
The Cowboys don't have the luxury of the fifth-year option because the 24-year-old was a second-rounder, so getting him inked to a long-term deal is more pressing.
Diggs would be justified if he wants to be the highest-paid corner in the league. Denzel Ward just signed a five-year, $100.5 million contract with the Cleveland Browns while Jaire Alexander has the highest annual average value at $21 million on his four-year deal.
Diggs has 17 interceptions since coming into the league. Only J.C. Jackson has as many in that time span.
Still, Diggs' risky playing style also means he gives up a lot of yards. He gave up more than anyone in 2021. His boom-or-bust style combined with the fact that the Cowboys are headed toward shelling out big money to Prescott and Lamb are all factors that could turn this into a public contract negotiation before the two sides agree to anything.
RB Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers
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Austin Ekeler's inclusion here is really a continuation of the contract dispute he had with the Chargers this offseason.
The 28-year-old back reportedly requested a trade but withdrew it when the Chargers added $2 million in incentives to the final year of his current contract, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
That was likely just the preamble for a contract dispute that will really get started at the end of this season.
That's when Ekeler will be seeking his second contract extension with the threat of leaving in free agency. As we saw with Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley, teams can utilize the franchise tag to try to force running backs to continue playing on one-year guaranteed deals.
Perhaps the Chargers' $2 million concession this offseason will pave the way for that, but he has already expressed his frustration with the franchise tag and what it is doing to the running back market.
What will further complicate Ekeler's contract situation is how unique he is as a player. He has never rushed for over 1,000 yards and has only crossed the 200-carry threshold twice in his career.
He's not like most traditional running backs in the sense that he is more valued as a receiver than a runner, and the Chargers had one of the worst rushing attacks in the league despite his presence.
That makes it hard to really gauge how much he's worth compared to his running back peers and sets up an interesting contract showdown next offseason.
QB Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
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Jalen Hurts was the first of the 2020 draft class of quarterbacks to get his big-money extension. The Eagles fired first and got the advantage of setting the market at $51 million in annual average value before the Ravens topped that number with Lamar Jackson's new deal.
Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert figure to be next, but it would be surprising if either of their negotiations got into "contract dispute" mode. The former has taken the Bengals to the Super Bowl, and the latter has remained healthy and playing at a high level for three seasons.
The Dolphins and Tagovailoa are in a more complicated situation.
The quarterback enjoyed a breakout season when he was healthy last year. He finished third in total QBR with only Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen ahead of him.
However, he's never completely shaken the injury-prone label he carried when he was drafted. It isn't just the multiple concussions he suffered last season, he has dealt with thumb, rib and back issues since coming into the NFL.
Combined with knee and hip injuries in college, it will be interesting to see how much guaranteed money the Dolphins are willing to put into his contract.
If Tagovailoa stays healthy and continues to play at his 2022 levels, he'll join the ranks of Burrow and Herbert as easy extension choices. If he doesn't or he gets hurt again, he'll become the most interesting case of the class.
RB Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
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The contract situations of Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard can't be comforting for Jonathan Taylor. The 24-year-old is set to become the latest star running back to seek a multi-year extension before he hits free agency next offseason.
Taylor has said his management team has reached out to the Colts to get the process of coming up with a new deal started.
"We definitely have approached (the Colts)," he told reporters in mid-June. "Hopefully, that they can see the value, hopefully we can explain the value, not that it needs explanation. But we just want to be here, like I said, to help the team, help uplift the community."
Taylor's struggles last season and a new coaching regime taking over make for an intriguing negotiation. His side could come to the table, point at his 2021 season where he had 2,171 total yards and 20 touchdowns and argue he should reset the running back market.
However, the Colts can also point to his injury-shortened 2022 campaign in which he was much less productive and note the contract situations of other top backs.
As running backs continue to struggle to get paid on second and third multi-year contracts, Taylor could be the next case that sets the precedent for other players moving forward.
OT Jedrick Wills Jr., Cleveland Browns
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The Cleveland Browns decided to pick up the fifth-year option on left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. Whether that means they are committed to the tackle beyond that fifth season remains to be seen.
The Browns have had one of the best offensive lines in the league, and Wills has been the starter at left tackle for three seasons, but he hasn't shown much growth since his rookie year. In fact, he's given up more sacks each season, per Sports Info Solutions.
Wills gave up a career-high nine sacks last season and had 36 blown blocks after combining for 46 in his first two seasons. He also set a new career-record with seven holding penalties.
The 24-year-old's 62.9 PFF grade placed him 56th out of 81 qualifying tackles.
All that being said, there's still going to be a sizable market for Wills if he hits free agency. There aren't many tackles just about to hit their prime who get to the open market, which is why the Chiefs were willing to pay Jawaan Taylor a four-year, $80 million contract this offseason.
The Browns already have a few major financial commitments on the books. Deshaun Watson is the obvious one, but Denzel Ward and Myles Garrett both have top-of-the-market deals.
Spotrac projects a four-year, $75.9 million contract right now. If Wills sees himself as a player who should be making more than that, there could be a standoff brewing in Cleveland.
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