CINCINNATI — The Bengals are about to get two signatures that will show the world they are serious about giving Joe Burrow the weapons he needs to win a Super Bowl.
Burrow made it very clear the night of Dec. 9, 2024 he was willing to do whatever it takes to get not only Ja’Marr Chase to sign on the dotted line but his playmaking partner – Tee Higgins – to join him to make history in Cincinnati.
During a news conference set for 2 p.m. ET Tuesday, Chase and Higgins will explain why they took the deals they did and why Joe Burrow was such a huge part of this.
But Bengals ownership – much maligned over the years – should take a bow, too. You can criticize them all you want over the years for the way they drew the purse strings extra tight or how they haven’t built up their scouting department or how they tolerated mediocrity too long for a fan base that is starving for just one Vince Lombardi trophy.
Not this time. For the second time in three offseasons, the Bengals have demonstrated that they are willing to pay for their star players and not let them “walk out of the building” as Burrow put it late in the season as he was making his case several times to keep Chase and Higgins.
It took four year deals for both Chase and Higgins. Chase will indeed become the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL as Duke Tobin promised at the Combine in late February. With $161 million over four years, he nudges out the $40 million AAV of Myles Garrett in Cleveland. His $112 million guaranteed is second only to Burrow’s $219 million in terms of guarantees in Bengals history. Higgins is reportedly receiving four years and $115 million with the first two years guaranteed.
It is part of that $219 that had to be restructured to get Chase and Higgins done. Burrow was very open about his willingness to restructure that bonus to help with the cash payouts for the deals. Not only did that help the Bengals meet the cash demands of Chase and Higgins, it helped the Bengals for the very-future as well, as the Bengals loosened up several million in cap space to continue their roster build for this season, whether that’s Trey Hendrickson or a starting guard on the offensive line – or both.
The Chase and Higgins deals were negotiated by Rocky Arcenaux and Caitlin Aoki of Alliance Management. The turning point in talks with Higgins came when he realized that two heads were better than one in dealing with Bengals ownership.
In terms of doing a deal with the Brown/Blackburn family. He realized that Arcenaux would likely use the Chase deal as motivation to get the Higgins deal done, knowing that if you want to get a deal done with Chase, here’s what it would take to satisfy Higgins.
While that leverage is something the Brown family had to work with, it was certainly better than trying to work a similar deal with David Mulugheta of Atheltes First, who rightfully wanted Higgins to get to free agency. Would Mulugheta have been able to get a better deal? Would Higgins have commanded more than the $27.5 million annually on the open market? Possibly and probably.
But the Bengals took Higgins at face value that he wanted to stay in Cincinnati with Burrow in a passing offense that will no doubt maximize his skills.
There’s an expression in today’s high finance sports community – you don’t make bad deals when you pay your best players. It’s a simple philosophy but one the Bengals have demonstrated over the years, certainly with exceptions like Andrew Whitworth, Carson Palmer and Jessie Bates.
In July 2023, Bengals fans celebrated the $275 million extension for Joe Burrow. Today, Burrow can do the same for his receivers. All of this is because Bengals ownership is banking on the trio to finally bring home that elusive Super Bowl title.
Now, about Trey Hendrickson and that defense.
