The Cincinnati Bengals have backed themselves into a corner this offseason after a disappointing season, with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins needing massive contract extensions and inevitable Trey Hendrickson drama on the way, too.
Chase is priority No. 1, though, after the team had an opportunity to get his contract extension out of the way before the season and couldn’t make it work.
Now, they have to get creative — while attempting to stick to their preferred way of doing business. According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, that could mean forking over stunning cash on a signing bonus:
The Bengals have a long-held policy of refusing to guarantee any money beyond the signing bonus in long-term veteran contracts (other than Joe Burrow’s deal), and if Chase demands they make an exception for him, this could drag out for a while. Cincinnati is likely to offer a massive signing bonus to try to convince Chase to sign while still holding to its policy. If he goes for it, that likely means he’d top the $38 million signing bonus CeeDee Lamb got from the Cowboys prior to the 2024 season.
One problem — the Bengals have to hope Chase and his reps would actually go for that. And another bonus problem — it’s worth wondering how much physical cash the Bengals can generate for other needs if they do this.
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One can presume the Bengals already tried something like this before the season. Right on cue, guarantees and structure of payouts were reportedly the sticking point, with another report going as far as saying Chase felt misled.
Which side blinks first? One would think after Chase won a Triple Crown, the Bengals might cave and let Chase have more guarantees than they prefer, just like Joe Burrow. Giving that to a Triple Crown winner and outright top wideout in the NFL wouldn’t set a precedent that they will do it for all contracts moving forward.
Either way, the Bengals don’t have all that long to get it done, not when they need to see what the books look like for Higgins, free agency and other matters.
