How Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins' Contract Extensions Impact Bengals' Salary Cap

The Tee Higgins franchise tag saga is finally behind us.

The Cincinnati Bengals, after using the franchise tag on Higgins for the second straight offseason, finally came to terms on a long-term extension with the veteran wideout. According to Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz, the deal is for four years and $115 million, with the first two years guaranteed.

But that's not all, as Schultz added that star receiver Ja'Marr Chase also earned a massive contract with the Bengals for $161 million over four years with $112 million in guarantees, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

Schultz added that Higgins' deal could be worth $30 million annually with incentives, which would make him a top-five-paid receiver in the NFL. Chase's extension keeps him under contract for the next five years at $182.8 million. Higgins is now signed through 2028, while Chase joins star quarterback Joe Burrow in being signed to Cincinnati through 2029.

Those figures are being added to a Bengals salary cap that currently stands at $273.5 million, per Spotrac. Chase, Higgins and Burrow will now combine for over $120 million per year by themselves:

While this always felt like the ultimate outcome after the team said it was working "toward a long-term deal" for Higgins in early March—and after Burrow made it abundantly clear that he wanted his playmakers back—the Bengals still entered the offseason with a lot of financial housekeeping to sort through.

Namely, Higgins and tight end Mike Gesicki were free agents, while Chase and defensive end Trey Hendrickson were in line for lucrative extensions.

Burrow said he was willing to restructure to make sure everybody was willing to get paid during an appearance on FS1's Breakfast Ball in early February, adding he had faith in Cincy's ownership and front office to get it done.

"We have the cap space to get it done," he said. "I want to make it happen. Everybody involved Trey, Tee, Ja'Marr, Mike G, we all want to stay together. When you have guys that are motivated like that I think you can get those things done."

The Bengals heard him loud and clear, keeping the band together for the foreseeable future. Gesicki also re-signed with the team on a three-year, $25.5 million deal last week.

Rewarding Chase was always an inevitability after his incredible start to his career. The 25-year-old has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his four years in the NFL, and he's coming off a dominant 2024 campaign in which he won the receiving triple crown by leading the league with 127 catches, 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns. He earned first-team All-Pro honors for the first time, proving to Cincinnati that he is worthy of a historic payday that resets the booming wide receiver market.

From a football perspective, keeping Higgins always made sense. The 26-year-old has reached 900 or more receiving yards in four of his five NFL seasons, 1,000 yards twice and hit double-digit touchdowns (10) in 2024 for the first time in his career. While Chase is the unquestioned top dog in the passing game, Higgins is able to make teams pay for focusing too much attention on his running mate.

Still, it was unclear how many resources the Bengals would devote to the wide receiver position, with other needs around the roster. The answer, it turns out, is quite a lot.

These deals now raise questions about Cincinnati's chances to improve in other areas. The team already conceded that it won't be able to keep Hendrickson happy, as he announced earlier this month that he received permission to seek a trade. Losing him would create a hole on a defense that already suffered from a lack of talent in 2024.

For now, the Bengals will be satisfied that they were able to keep Chase and Higgins in the fold with Sunday's eye-popping extensions.