Ja'Marr Chase Unlikely to Sign New Contract Until Next Offseason, Says Bengals' Owner

At Monday's annual media luncheon, Cincinnati Bengals president Mike Brown indicated that star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is unlikely to get a contract extension until next offseason, per ESPN's Ben Baby.

According to Baby, Brown was asked if contract negotiations would continue into the season, to which he said that "opportunities can arise unexpectedly" but mostly indicated the team would prefer to work on a deal next summer.

"It's not so likely that this is the good time to negotiate," Brown said. "The offseason is a better time for that and we're going to try to keep focused on the football part.

"I'm not going to rule anything out, but I will tell you that the die has probably been cast."

A lucrative contract extension seems inevitable for Chase, though the timeline remains unclear.

Chase is coming off his third consecutive season with 1,000-plus receiving yards and he also picked up his third Pro Bowl bid in as many years. The 2021 first-round pick holds the franchise records for most receiving yards in a single game and a single season.

Brown expressed how much the team values Chase and said the Bengals would go to great lengths to ensure he signs an extension at some point.

"He's a key player next to Joe [Burrow]," Brown said. "He's our next one. He knows that. We know it. This may take a while. We are going to bend over backwards to get it done. I can't tell you when."

Despite another outstanding season from Chase, the Bengals failed to reach the playoffs last year, in large part due to quarterback Joe Burrow suffering a season-ending wrist injury. Cincinnati still has much of the core that led it to a Super Bowl appearance in 2021, and it will look to have similar success with that group this year.