Ja'Marr Chase's Contract Demands: Bengals Face a Nuclear Option as Receiver's Holdout Intensifies

On so many levels, Ja'Marr Chase isn't getting the respect he deserves.

Let's start with his contract, which is where his focus is fixed. Chase is in the final year of his rookie contract, and while there is absolutely zero question over whether he's one of the league's best receivers, the Cincinnati Bengals have failed to deliver an extension that compensates him properly.

And that's where the second level of disrespect comes in: It feels like we haven't been talking enough about Chase. Not until Wednesday when things hit that-escalated-quickly level of dysfunction. Bengals coach Zac Taylor told reporters Chase would be on the practice field to participate. He wasn't. He showed up late — and in shorts and a T-shirt.

"I probably put my foot in my mouth speaking too quickly," Taylor said after practice.

Oops.

And also — yikes.

We've spent the summer talking about San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk, in part because he's such a key cog in the Brock Purdy-led offense. Aiyuk also made headlines when he demanded a trade. (That trade demand led to a dramatic saga of will-he, won't-he. Though the 49ers and Steelers have — or had? — a deal in place, Aiyuk remains in San Francisco.) It was pretty simple: Aiyuk was more interesting than Chase, even if he isn't the better player.

But maybe now that real football is on the horizon, it's time to shift our focus to a situation that might just be spiraling out of control.

Chase is as important to Joe Burrow's comeback efforts as anyone. (Burrow is returning from a season-ending wrist injury in 2023.) And that means Chase is as important to the Bengals' Super Bowl ambitions as anyone not named Burrrow.

"[Chase] is a key player," owner Mike Brown told reporters before training camp. "Next to Joe [Burrow], he is the next one. He knows it. We know it. This may take a while. We are going to bend over backwards to get it done."

Looks like you're not bending far enough, Mr. Brown.

The good news is that the CeeDee Lamb deal could help grease the gears of negotiations. It seemed like the Justin Jefferson deal was actually log-jamming the market. Players wanted what Jefferson was getting, but he was in a unique position of power with the Minnesota Vikings, who now have one of the worst quarterback situations in the NFL. They needed to pay Jefferson to stay happy. The Cowboys, 49ers and Bengals don't have that same problem.

Chase will likely want to reset the market and make more than Jefferson. But he can take solace in the fact that not even Lamb did that — not even after the Cowboys star finished second in receiving yards (1,749) and receiving touchdowns (12). That's a level of production Chase hasn't hit, with his career-best season coming in 2021 when he had 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns.

So it's possible Chase and the Bengals can look at Lamb's deal as a framework: four years, $136 million total, $110 guaranteed.

Whatever the terms end up being, Chase needs to get paid. The Bengals need him on the practice field, because every minute they waste is likely to cut into Chase's productivity to start the season. There's the common adage that holdout players are more likely to get injured. Whether that's statistically true or not, Chase will be a step behind his peers who have spent the past month getting into football shape. Most former NFL players will tell you that genuinely matters.

That's not the only potential negative outcome for the Bengals. The longer they wait, the more they're likely to have to pay. It's not like the receiver market is going to dip. Chase is almost definitely going to put up equal or better numbers to what he did in 2023 (100 catches, 1,1216 yards, seven touchdowns). Receivers are going to keep getting paid more between now and next offseason.

Again, Chase just needs to get paid — now.

NFL teams seem to have miscalculated how much power they have, now that players are holding in. Typically, Aiyuk and Chase would have incurred major fines by now. But they're not down a huge chunk of cash, like Haason Reddick, for example, whom the Jets can fine nearly $2 million for missing training camp. No, Chase and Aiyuk aren't in a financial hole. There was no real recourse for the teams trying to get these players back on the field.

Until now. This is when it gets real, folks.

This is when the Bengals have to decide whether to start going after Chase, as laid out by former NFL agent Joel Corry. If he elects to practice when and where he pleases, they need to start with a written warning that he's committing conduct detrimental to the team. And then they can impose fines. If Chase misses the season opener, the Bengals could take their strongest course of action: a fine of a week's salary ($293,056 for Chase) along with a four-week suspension. That would mean $1.055 million in fines and lost wages.

But just as important: that would mean a Bengals offense without Chase for five weeks. As crazy as it sounds, Cincinnati's punishment would hurt their playoff hopes more than it would hurt Chase's wallet.

That's the nuclear option. It doesn't feel like that's where things are headed — yet.

But perhaps we've underestimated how far Chase can take this. Perhaps we've lost sight of how important he is to the playoff picture. And perhaps that's why Chase's dispute hasn't come to a resolution.

The Bengals can afford to pay Chase. They can't afford to field a team without him. The situation isn't that complicated.

If the Cincinnati Bengals want to get an extension done with Ja'Marr Chase before the start of the season, it looks like they're going to have to write a pretty hefty check to make it happen.

Chase, according to NFL Media, wants a new deal that will make him the highest-paid receiver in NFL history. That title currently belongs to Justin Jefferson, who got a new four-year, $140 million extension in June. Chase isn't looking to blow that deal away. Instead, he simply wants to beat it by ONE PENNY.

"My understanding is that the two sides are still discussing a long-term extension, that, if he got it, would make him either: Tied for the highest-paid receiver with Justin Jefferson, or beating Justin Jefferson by one cent, which I believe is the goal by Ja'Marr Chase," Ian Rapoport said this week.

That's right, Chase wants to beat Jefferson's deal by a single cent, so it appears that a four-year extension worth $140,000,000.01 will get the job done. Chase and Jefferson were former teammates at LSU, so it's not a huge surprise that the Bengals receiver wants to top his buddy.

Although it's a hefty price to pay, it would make some sense for the Bengals to get a deal done now. Chase still has two years left on his rookie deal, unlike Jefferson, who only had one season left when he signed his extension.

For the Bengals, the advantage of doing a deal now is that they would be able to spread out Chase's cap hits over six seasons. Chase is set to make just $1.055 million in base salary this year followed by a fifth-year option in 2025 that would pay him $21.82 million. If the Bengals matched Jefferson's deal (or gave him one cent more), they'd have Chase under contract for the next six years for a total of $162.88 million or $27.15 million per year, which sounds much more team friendly than $40 million per year.

The drama between Chase and the Bengals has gone on all offseason. The receiver sat out every practice of training camp before returning to the field this week. After Chase worked out with the team at the beginning of the week, that prompted coach Zac Taylor to declare that the receiver would definitely be playing in Week 1 against the Patriots.

Apparently, Chase didn't like that statement, because after Taylor made the comment, the receiver refused to take the field for Cincinnati's practice on Wednesday. After that session, Taylor didn't seem so sure whether Chase would be playing in the opener. "I probably put my foot in my mouth speaking too quickly," Taylor said on Wednesday, referring to his comments from Monday.

It's a difficult situation for the Bengals because it's unprecedented in NFL history. It's almost unheard of for a player with two years left on his rookie deal to sit out in a contract dispute, especially a non-quarterback. It's also rare for a non-quarterback to get a new deal with two years left, but it has happened. Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith -- who were both in Chase's draft class -- both got a new deal this offseason and that might be why Chase also feels like he deserves one now. That being said, Waddle and Smith both got their deals done amicably and they didn't miss any practice time (Smith got his new deal in April while Waddle got his extension in May).

Waddle and Smith both signed three-year extensions so they're now under contract for five more years. It's unclear if Chase is looking to get a three-year deal at $40 million per year (plus a penny) or a four-year deal at $40 million per year (plus a penny).

From a contract standpoint, Chase doesn't really have any leverage. If a player is healthy and doesn't practice, they can be fined by the team. However, it's unlikely the Bengals would go that route. Taylor has tried to serve as a peacemaker in this situation. Also, Chase knows how important he is to the Bengals, thanks to comments that owner Mike Brown made before training camp.

"He's a key player next to Joe [Burrow]," Brown said in late July. "He's our next one. He knows that. We know it. This may take a while. We are going to bend over backwards to get it done. I can't tell you when."

Although Brown said the team would bend over backwards to get a deal done, he also said a new contract likely wouldn't happen before the start of the season, which is why the Bengals are in their current conundrum.

"It's not so likely that this is the good time to negotiate," Brown said. "The offseason is a better time for that and we're going to try to keep focused on the football part. I'm not going to rule anything out, but I will tell you that the die has probably been cast."

With just 10 days to go until the Bengals opener against the Patriots, the clock is ticking on the two sides to get a deal done. If they don't get a deal done, it will be interesting to see if Chase is willing to sit out any games in an effort to his new extension.

The situation between the Cincinnati Bengals and star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase took a rather stunning turn on Wednesday, to say the least.

After mostly returning to practice for the first time all summer last week, Chase posted a cryptic-seeming message on social media, then didn't practice on Wednesday -- one day after head coach Zac Taylor suggested things were back to normal and that Chase would play in Week 1.

So what gives?

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport offered his take on the situation after that practice, essentially saying that Wednesday was about Chase sending a message to the team.

"This is just me reading into it, 'like hang on, I'm not doing anything yet, I still want that new deal.' That's what this felt like to me, was Ja'Marr Chase pumping the brakes and saying 'yes, I've been practicing, but no that doesn't mean I'm stepping onto that field unless and until I get that mega-deal.'"

Rapoport also added that "from my understanding, it's not impossible" that a deal could happen before Week 1.

It's certainly one way to take things. Tuesday, Taylor says Chase will play Week 1 and all is well. Wednesday, Chase is in street clothes while his teammates practice.

Message received, right?

At the end of the day, maybe Taylor was doing the whole coach-speak thing and it backfired. But Chase is also likely using his last little bit of leverage he has before needing to get in gear for the season.

Either way, we know they're talking about an extension and the fact that CeeDee Lamb just got a deal in Dallas that put him in that Justin Jefferson range establishes a market for Chase's deal -- even if it is seemingly a year early while he has two years left on his rookie deal.

From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: Ja’Marr Chase was back to not practicing today… pic.twitter.com/JvqeGUhDDG

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 28, 2024

CINCINNATI — A new day in Cincinnati and another day of practice in store for the Bengals, with or without Ja'Marr Chase. Zac Taylor shared the latest on his practice plan for Chase with the media Thursday, Cincinnati's final session before normal game practices start next week.

Chase was out there for the first two sessions this week, but not the Wednesday or Thursday sessions open to the media

"We'll see. Not going to make any predictions," Taylor said about Chase practicing before Thursday's practice. "It will probably be very similar to yesterday, but I'm not going to make any predictions."

Daniel Salib laid out how Chase is scheduled to make about $14 million more in salary on a four-year deal if he signs next offseason (deal would be right between Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb's contracts), making the years stick out like a sore thumb in finding reasoning why Chase is playing hardball so close to the season.

If he was fine with a four-year deal, it'd make more financial sense to sign it next offseason. Alas, a three-year route would be much different. On a three-year extension, He could reset the wide receiver market following the 2028 season as opposed to the 2029 season.

It's all speculative as the star receiver continues to keep his public thoughts on negotiations to himself, but the hypothetical salary cap projections are interesting from Salib's thread. Whatever the thinking is, time is running out for Cincinnati to get a deal done before their normal Week 1 cut-off mark on these extensions.

"In this league, every week there's a different form of adversity," Taylor said on Thursday. "You gotta find the positives in it. And our team has found the positives in it. Able to support a teammate, find positives for other teammates, and continue to move forward."

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