NFL Rumors: Latest on Ja'Marr Chase Contract Talks After Justin Jefferson's Deal

Monday brought good news for Ja'Marr Chase and the rest of the star wide receivers in the NFL who will eventually be looking for new contracts.

Justin Jefferson reset the market.

The Minnesota Vikings announced they signed Jefferson to an extension, which NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported was worth $140 million over four years. That made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

All eyes now turn elsewhere, and Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reported it might be some time before Chase's new deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. After all, he has a club option for 2025 and wouldn't hit free agency until 2026.

Dehner noted Cincinnati often waits until closer to the deadline on significant contract extensions and did so with A.J. Green and Joe Burrow, among others, in the past. He also reported, "league sources indicated Chase signing before this season would likely mean his camp giving up more than a little in the negotiation."

The nature of these contract negotiations is the next one for a star player is almost always bigger than the last.

That could be bad news for Cincinnati and others hoping to keep their star wide receivers on the team at affordable prices, but Chase is someone who has played his way into a significant deal.

The No. 5 overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft has an Offensive Rookie of the Year, three Pro Bowl selections and three seasons with more than 1,000 receiving yards on his resume through just three years.

He was once again excellent in 2023 with 100 catches for 1,216 yards and seven touchdowns and is a primary reason expectations are so high in Cincinnati once again after reaching a Super Bowl and another AFC Championship Game in his first two seasons.

Chase is eligible to sign an extension this offseason, although Dehner made it clear that wasn't going to happen before the Jefferson situation worked itself out.

"It's easy to say the Bengals should have found a way to get an expected Chase extension done sooner and avoid this hefty market adjustment, but Chase wasn't going to so much as look in their direction until Jefferson's last pen stroke dried in Minnesota," he wrote.

The question now is whether Cincinnati will pay what it takes to keep him, although it doesn't have to make a decision any time soon.

Still, the price may only increase in the future, as CeeDee Lamb is set to enter the final year of his contract and could reset the market once again with the Dallas Cowboys.

As long as Chase continues to put up excellent numbers, there will surely be a major contract waiting for him down the line. It just remains to be seen how far down the line and whether it will be with the only NFL team he has ever known.