The Dallas Cowboys and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb agreed to a contract extension on Monday that makes Lamb the second-highest paid non-quarterback in the league. The extension is a four-year deal worth $136 million and includes the highest signing bonus ever given to a wide receiver, $38 million.
The Lamb extension follows a slew of deals at the position this offseason, including Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson receiving the largest non-quarterback deal in the history of the league, and Miami Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill getting a record-breaking extension of his own. So what does all of this mean for Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase?
Chase has been unhappy with his current contract situation and is seeking a new deal with the team. He has made it known that he and his team were waiting on the Lamb extension to hit the wire, and could be willing to wait even longer. Now we have the Lamb extension, and it’s a massive deal. The question now is whether or not the Bengals will be willing to approach the deals that Jefferson and Lamb got.
Judging by his play on the field, Chase is deserving of being in that echelon with Jefferson and Lamb. Chase has been one of the most productive receivers in the league since he arrived in Cincinnati as a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Chase has put up over 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons, and has 29 touchdowns in his young career. That is two more scores than Lamb, and six more than Jefferson over that same period.
To make Chase’s stats more impressive, he’s been able to do that work while splitting targets with arguably the best wide receiver trio in the league in Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd joining him. That will likely factor into the contract equation, as well.
Ultimately, it may be unlikely that Chase’s new deal exceeds the figures that Jefferson got in his deal with the Vikings. However, given the fact he was waiting for Lamb to finish his extension with the Cowboys, it seems likely he’ll want a deal at least in that neighborhood, if not slightly more.