Joe Burrow's Reported Contract's Impact on Bengals' Salary Cap, Higgins, Chase Deals

The 2023 NFL season started Thursday, but the Cincinnati Bengals had more than just this year in mind.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Bengals and quarterback Joe Burrow agreed to a contract extension for five years and $275 million. The deal features $219.01 million in guarantees and makes him the highest-paid player in league history.

Burrow's existing contract was set to expire after the 2024 campaign, so this is a move that will impact the salary cap down the line and secures the long-term future of the franchise quarterback.

Over The Cap lists the Bengals with $180.3 million in team cap space in 2025 and $262.7 million in team cap space for 2026. The quarterback's extension will clearly eat into that, as will roster moves that will be made multiple years from now.

Spotrac weighed in on the deal:

The biggest question is what the impact will be on the top wide receivers.

Tee Higgins is signed through 2023, while Ja'Marr Chase is under contract through 2024.

Chase in particular figures to command quite a contract, as he is one of the best wide receivers in the league. By average annual salary, Tyreek Hill ($30 million), Davante Adams ($28 million) and Cooper Kupp ($26.7 million) are the highest-paid players at the position, and the LSU product will surely want to be included in that conversation with any new deal.

Higgins won't be in that category, but he will also command a major deal considering he is 24 years old and coming off back-to-back seasons with more than 1,000 receiving yards. He certainly benefits from the defensive attention that Chase commands, but he is a key part of the Bengals' offensive attack.

And they seem to know that.

Schefter reported that "Burrow is the first of three core offensive extensions that the Bengals have prioritized" with Chase and Higgins as the other ones.

That means Cincinnati is going to be using plenty of its available salary cap space on its star offensive players. That is the way it should be, as this is a team in the middle of a Super Bowl window with its star 26-year-old quarterback locked up for years to come.

The Burrow deal isn't going to prevent the Bengals from signing his top two targets.