Like it or not, Ja’Marr Chase’s “hold-in” and the speculation about a potential extension for the superstar wide receiver has been a major storyline this offseason. Ideally, Bengals fans would love the focus on Chase to be about his play on the field and the preseason development of his connection with Joe Burrow. After all, both he and Burrow are fully healthy in training camp. They missed an opportunity last year to get valuable reps that could have helped the Bengals avoid a slow start to the year.
All of that being said, Ja’Marr Chase is a dynamic wide receiver and has been critical to the Bengals’ success since he was drafted. In his 3 seasons with the team, he has 268 catches for 3,717 yards and has scored 29 touchdowns. He has led the Bengals in receiving each year since he’s been drafted.
Though Chase and his camp have been fairly tight-lipped about the exact type of contract extension he may be seeking, that hasn’t stopped some information from coming out that gives a better idea of the range Bengals fans can expect to see. On a recent podcast, WKRC’s Richard Skinner reported that he heard some information that the number Chase is seeking is somewhere in the range of a 4-year deal worth $160 million dollars in total.
Make no mistake, that is a rather large sum of money. But there is no need to panic just yet because digging a little deeper into the way such a deal might be structured takes a bit of the bite from that final number. As John Sheeran does a great job of explaining, while the total value of the contract may seem very high, the actual “average annual value (AAV) is all the way down at $31,113,113.” This would actually come in below Justin Jefferson’s AAV number, at $31,948,600.
This is the situation we all knew would come about one day or another. Whether it be once Joe Burrow signed his own (well-earned) megadeal, or when Justin Jefferson signed his, we knew the clock would begin running on Chase’s own extension. The time to face up to what has to be done is now, and it seems as though allowing this situation to linger without resolution simply cannot be an option. He is Joe Burrow’s college teammate and the two are very close. Though our quarterback can make any receiver look good given his level of talent, there is so much more value in having Joe Burrow take a superstar receiver like Chase to even higher levels of success when they are on the field together.
Whether a deal is done or not, the expectation is that he will suit up week 1 against the New England Patriots and play just as well and as hard as he has in every game he’s been in a Bengals uniform for. But there’s no question that having a deal in place will make everyone on all sides of this equation much happier and secure, which would be a clear benefit.
Cover photo credit: AP Photo/Aaron Doster
