The Cincinnati Bengals often get criticized for how they handle their business in many aspects. Whether it’s managing the roster, player contracts, the salary cap or the scouting department (or lack thereof), the Bengals tend to do things differently.
Robert Mays of The Athletic Football Show recently went after the team for how they deal with the contracts of star wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
“Go look at the contract structures for Ja’marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Go look at them. Combined against the cap this year, those two players are going to be making about $50 million. That’s about what they were going to be making before they signed the extensions,” Mays said on the podcast. “You look at every other major wide receiver extension over the last three or four years, and you look at the year one cap number and how that plays into the broader AAV (average annual value). CeeDee Lamb, who was on a contract that is in the same area code as Ja’Marr Chase’s, made $8 million against the cap in year one. Ja’Marr will be at $25 million.”
He didn’t even mention the fact that the Bengals dragged their collective feet in getting these two players signed long term in the first place. Specifically with Chase when he was a “hold-in” last offseason. As a “hold-in,” Chase was at training camp practices, but he didn’t participate in on-the-field work.
So, what did the Bengals do? They let him play in 2024 without an extension and watched him hit the triple crown of receiving, leading the NFL in catches (127), yards (1,708) and touchdowns (17). He then signed a four-year, $161 million deal that included $112 million guaranteed a couple of months ago. That number would surely have been lower had they gotten a deal done a year prior.
What were they waiting to see from him?
The Bengals just don’t operate like other teams
Mays went on to highlight what most around the NFL have known for years: The Bengals are just different (and not really in a good way). While it was 25 years ago, Bengals owner Mike Brown did send a private plane for Peter Warrick, the fourth-overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. It was reportedly the first time Brown had done so for a top pick and he was trying to improve the team’s image.
“This team just doesn’t pull the levers that other teams do,” Mays said. “And I think it’s always going to put you at a disadvantage. I’m not asking them to do anything crazy. This isn’t like a ton of void years or any of that other stuff where you’re all like so much cash over cap that you can’t survive as an organization run like the Bengals are. These are layups to be taken. This is just modern NFL contract structures. You shouldn’t be in a situation cap-wise like they are after paying those two guys where you’re not giving yourself any sort of relief.”
The Bengals still have others to sign
The Bengals currently have an estimated $61.9 million in cap space. And, let’s be honest, they are going to need it.
They still have major contract issues with defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who had 17.5 sacks in each of his last two seasons, leading the NFL in 2024. Well, he’s holding out and is reportedly prepared to miss games into the season.
It’s not difficult to surmise that he’s currently looking at Myles Garrett‘s $40 million annually, while also keeping an eye on what Aidan Hutchinson and Micah Parsons could land on their next deals. The Bengals are – again – backing themselves into a corner where they’ll end up having to overspend.
This isn’t even to mention the fact that they still have their top two 2025 NFL Draft picks unsigned. Shemar Stewart and Demetrius Knight currently aren’t under contract and it just further underscores the Bengals’ ineptitude as an organization.
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