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Ja'Marr Chase set to become highest-paid non-QB in NFL history

by:Jerit Roser•about 13 hours
Syndication: USA TODAY
Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers Tee Higgins (5) and Ja'Marr Chase (1) celebrate a touchdown during a game on Nov. 17, 2024.

Ja’Marr Chase has reportedly reached a contract extension with the Bengals that will make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

The terms of the former LSU wide receiver’s deal to remain in Cincinnati are four years and $161 million, including $112 million guaranteed, according to a FOX Sports insider Jordan Schultz report late Sunday.

Chase will surpass former Tigers teammate Justin Jefferson’s deal with the Minnesota Vikings last summer and the newly agreed-upon extension between the Cleveland Browns and edge rusher Myles Garrett atop the list of the league’s list of richest contracts.

The record agreement comes less than seven months after a tense offseason in which Chase sat training -camp practices as he pressed for a longer-term extension to his current deal that failed to materialize at the time.

The fourth-year receiver, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, ended his “hold-in” two weeks before the team’s opener, overcame a slow first couple weeks and then exploded for a historic, triple-crown campaign.

“All this BS that was going on this offseason and prior to the season, I’m just happy that it’s over with,” Chase told reporters in September. “I’m finally playing ball and having fun with the guys. That’s what matters most for me.”

Chase finished with career-highs of 127 catches for 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns to become just the fifth receiver since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to lead the league in all three categories and the youngest to ever do so.

He has now caught 395 passes for 5,425 yards and 46 scores in 62 career regular-season games, plus another 45 receptions for 588 yards and three touchdowns in a combined seven games in the 2021 and 2022 playoffs.

“He deserves it all,” Joe Burrow, Chase’s quarterback with both the Tigers and Bengals said after the season. “He works really hard for it. He’s obviously a great player, great person. To etch his name in history like that is really special, and I’m excited to be a part of it. I know everybody else is, too.”

Now the duo, which helped highlight LSU’s 2019 national championship, are slated to remain together through 2029 — along with receiver Tee Higgins, who Schultz also reported has reached a four-year, $115 million extension agreement with the team this weekend.

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