Cincinnati Bengals fans know all too well that this is one of the most important offseasons in franchise history now that Joe Burrow can officially sign a contract extension.
The Bengals would like to get the deal done early for what should now be obvious reasons: Setting the cap outlook in stone for the future, staying ahead of a booming quarterback market and, well, common sense.
It’s a point of stress for fans, undoubtedly, so they will like this fun prediction from Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr:
“Prediction: They will be pleasantly surprised by the ease of the Joe Burrow contract negotiations.
Katie Blackburn, the team’s executive vice president and the daughter of owner Mike Brown, once made an entire Hard Knocks segment due to her ability to stand ground during an intense negotiation. While I have no inside knowledge of this, I have a weird feeling that Burrow will not top the market, and we will be sold publicly in some way that he took less in order to build a team around him. Either way, this milestone in his football career—the first contract extension—will barely register and will be announced by the club some time on a sleepy June afternoon.”
This is a tone we’ve been setting for a long time now. Burrow is probably going to become the “highest-paid quarterback” in the NFL for a moment until one of Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert or Jalen Hurts passes him.
But there’s little chance the negotiations struggle or fall flat. The Bengals have prepared for this moment since they understood they would pick Burrow first overall (a decision made earlier than most would expect, too). They’ve sold naming rights to the stadium, individual ticket gates, done deals with local businesses, etc., and even structured the contracts of free agents last year with Burrow’s upcoming extension in mind.
Mike Brown always mentions the rolling guarantees Patrick Mahomes signed in Kansas City on his extension for a reason. The structure is creative, lessens the cap hit on the team each season and still pays him like the top-three passer that he is.
So yes, the Burrow extension will probably come on an unexpected day over the summer, likely putting him in $50 million-plus per year range on average, but with a structure that is “team friendly” just like deal Mahomes got. The AFC North might not wish it so, but this prediction is probably bang-on.
