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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase continues to not practice until he signs a contract extension , and now we have an idea of what the deal could look like.
Local 12 Bengals reporter Richard Skinner shared on Cincinnati's ESPN1530 radio station that Chase's representation is asking for a four-year deal worth $160 million in total value.
"And 120-ish of that guaranteed," Skinner added .
Those are extremely large numbers for a wide receiver contract, even when compared to the largest one in existence. Minnesota Vikings All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson signed a four-year $140 million contract featuring $110 million in total guarantees ($88,743,000 million fully guaranteed).
But like the reported Chase numbers, all of that is in new money added on to Jefferson's existing contract. The total values of both deals tell a different story; a story the Bengals should be happy to read.
Reported Ja'Marr Chase contract request is essentially Justin Jefferson's total contract
The reported numbers from Skinner are what would be added on to Chase's existing contract. He's scheduled to make $26,678,679 in cash over the next two years, and when factoring in the signing bonus that's been prorated throughout the life of his rookie contract, the total cap figure of both years is $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.
As for Jefferson, his total deal spans five years and amounts to $159,743,000.
The total AAV? $31,948,600.
Chase isn't even asking to be the highest-paid receiver in the league, at least not in terms of AAV. $120 million in total guarantees would make him the top dog in the money that matters, but that's an easy pill to swallow when you're in this territory of cash commitments.
If the Bengals could guarantee Joe Burrow $219 million a year ago, they can manage a little more than half of that for the player they'd " bend over backwards " to sign. Chase could ask for more to eclipse Jefferson's AAV and still hold real leverage against the club as a consensus top wideout .
Because Chase is pushing for this deal now, the Bengals could have him under contract for six more years (one more year than the Vikings have Jefferson for now) which makes the enormous $160 million figure more absorbable over the lifespan of the deal.
This was the same appeal for getting Burrow extended last year. Burrow's five-year deal was signed when he had two years remaining on his rookie contract. This gave the Bengals seven years worth of control, and the $255 million in new money was spread out feasibly to the point where they don't have to deal with a cap hit larger than his $55 million AAV until the last year of the deal in 2029.
Burrow's deal didn't get done until the Thursday before Week 1 last year. It could take that long to get the details ironed out with Chase, which is standard operating procedure for Cincinnati .
$40 million per year in new money is immense, and if true, it will be plastered over every announcement of Chase's deal. But like all contract details that get leaked to the internet, there's always a bigger picture.
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