Ja'Marr Chase reportedly seeking $160,000,000 contract extension as Bengals WR continues hold out: Report
The Cincinnati Bengals are entering the final stages of the NFL preseason and there have been no signs of Ja'Marr Chase at the training camp in the recent weeks. The star wide receiver is holding out, expecting a new deal. While Chase has not practiced or played in the preseason, he's been travelling with the team.
On Wednesday, Local 12's Bengals reporter Richard Skinner was as a guest on Cincinnati's ESPN1530 radio station and revealed the contract price Chase is demanding from the team. The 3x Pro Bowler is reportedly seeking a deal with larger guarantees than his former LSU teammate Justin Jefferson.
"The number I've heard on Ja'Marr's group is four-years, maybe close to $160 million," Skinner said. "And 120-ish of that guaranteed."
Chase is entering his fourth year of his $30,819,641 rookie contract. The Bengals picked up his fifth year option, earlier this offseason. The No. 5 overall pick of the 2021 draft is guaranteed to make $21.8 million in 2025.
Bengals writer expounds on Ja'Marr Chase's reported $160,000,00 asking price
AtoZ Sports' Bengals writer John Sheeran stated that while on the surface the deal would make the 3x Pro Bowler the highest paid wide receiver in the NFL, the new contract would be added to Ja'Marr Chase's existing deal and tell a whole new story.
Chase is expected to earn $26,678,679 over the next two years. With the signing bonus prorated over his rookie contract, the total cap figure would amount to $31,622,250.
"Two years and $31,622,250 plus four years and $160 million comes out to six years, $191,622,250 in terms of total cap commitments for the Bengals. The real cash value that Chase would earn is $186,678,679. There may be $40 million per year in new money, but the real average annual value (AAV) is all the way down at $31,113,113," he wrote.
Justin Jefferson's deal spans upto five years, worth $159,743,000. Chase's reported seeking price ends up being less than the Minnesota Vikings star's current AAV, $31,948,600.
Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown has said in the past that the team will "bend over backwards" to get Chase's contract extension done. Since the WR is aiming to get the deal now, the team can keep Chase for six more years and the $160 million asking price will be more absorbable throught the course of the contract, Sheeran explained.