Ja'Marr Chase & Tee Higgins just made Cincinnati Bengals history for TWO BIG REASONS

AtoZ Sports

John Sheeran discusses how wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins both made Cincinnati Bengals history with their new deals.

Transcript

00:00The Bengals are signing both Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins to massive four-year contracts,

00:04and that's phenomenal news. But in this video, I'll explain why one of these contracts in

00:08particular is so important for the future of the Bengals.

00:14Hi again, Bengals fans. Jon Sheeran of A to Z Sports Cincinnati here,

00:18and the Bengals once again did it at night. A couple of years ago, Orlando Brown Jr.

00:22signed the biggest external free agent contract in Bengals history at 10.30 at night in March.

00:28A few months later, Joe Burrow agreed to terms on the largest contract in NFL history

00:32during Thursday Night Football to begin that season. And now, Sunday night, March 16th,

00:37the Bengals agreed to terms with both Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins on two separate four-year contracts.

00:43Jamar Chase is now the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL and is guaranteed

00:48more money than Justin Jefferson, his old college partner. And while everyone who thought about this

00:52for longer than five seconds knew that the Bengals were eventually going to pay Jamar Chase, it is

00:57good that they did not wait around any longer than they actually had to after Miles Garrett

01:02reached the $40 million per year mark. Chase is on track to being the most accomplished,

01:06most talented, best overall receiver in this long history of great receivers in Cincinnati football.

01:12He was always going to be someone that they pay, that they bend to, that they give out guaranteed

01:17money to. He was always going to break precedent. He was always going to be an exception to the

01:22rule. Jamar Chase is just that good, and the Bengals were always going to get this done.

01:26However, the same could not be said about Tee Higgins, and there are multiple reasons as to

01:31why this was the case. For starters, this does not happen if Tee Higgins doesn't change his agent

01:36last season, because the Bengals tried and failed on at least two separate occasions to reach a

01:40long-term deal with Higgins when he was previously represented by David Molageta. When the Bengals

01:44placed the franchise tag on him the first time in 2024, everyone believed that that bridge had

01:49been burned, that there was no hope in getting Higgins signed long-term so long as Molageta

01:53was representing him and trying to push for these guarantees that the Bengals just never go for

01:58for a player like Higgins, and we'll get to that part in a second. But the Bengals were very close

02:02last year in extending Chase when he was being represented by Rocky Arsenault. Now, Higgins could

02:06have kept Molageta. He would have eventually hit free agency, and Molageta has always been known

02:10to getting his clients the best possible deals with the most guaranteed money. He would have

02:13been perfectly fine getting the deal that he wanted from some other team, but that's not what

02:17he wanted to do. He wanted to get a deal done here in Cincinnati, so he made the conscious decision

02:23of swapping Molageta for Arsenault to team up with Jamar Chase's representation to get both of

02:28these deals done. Oftentimes, you see players switch agents for the sake of maximizing their

02:33potential earnings. In this case, Higgins was potentially sacrificing his guarantees in this

02:37contract, but he did it again to stay with the Bengals and Chase. So that was step number one.

02:42Hope had been restored. The Bengals could actually get both Chase and Higgins done and keep their

02:46star quarterback Joe Burrow happy, but there was still an obstacle here because just because Higgins

02:50had changed his agent didn't mean that he was willing to sacrifice giving up guaranteed money

02:55in the second year of his contract. And for a player like Higgins, who's not exactly a perennial

02:59pro bowl or all pro talent or an elite player like a Jamar Chase or Joe Burrow who managed to get

03:04those guarantees and were always going to get those guarantees, Higgins wasn't exactly that type

03:08of player, and those types of players in Bengals history have never been able to get future

03:12guarantees beyond just the first year. And this was always going to be the most compelling part

03:16of the story if it actually happened. And it turns out it did, because in Higgins is four

03:21year, $115 million contract that can actually go up even further with incentives. That second year

03:26is guaranteed. Not only did Higgins get what he wanted with a new agent, but this could also be a

03:31sign that the Bengals are now willing to offer future guarantees to players like Higgins, who

03:36are just again below that truly elite status. I mean, just think how many players in the last few

03:40years have left the Bengals because they were able to get guaranteed money from other teams.

03:44Jesse Bates here is the obvious answer and newsflash, David Mulligan was his agent too,

03:48but DJ Reeder, Kevin Zeitler, Marvin Jones, the list goes on and on for players who weren't able

03:53to get the Bengals to bend for them. Tee Higgins was able to do that himself. There's certainly a

03:57debate about whether or not the Bengals should have actually done this. Should they have paid

04:00so much money, so much capital resources going to two receivers when they have a truly elite

04:05quarterback in Burrow? And I see that argument. I truly do. But take it from me, who's watched

04:10this team fumble around with their best players for so many years, squabbling over guarantees that

04:1630 other franchises offer without a second thought. This is a significant moment in the history of the

04:21Bengals franchise, particularly with how they do business, with how they give out their own money,

04:26cherish it, relish it, use it as a benchmark for what should be the standard to come. I truly have

04:32no idea if the Bengals are going to be good for the next four years, but I know they're going to

04:36be worth watching.

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