Who’s the highest-paid player on the Cincy roster? What are the key cap implications? Here’s what you need to know about this season’s Bengals contracts.
The Cincinnati Bengals continue to insist on putting nary a foot wrong. Zac Taylor’s team overcame a 4-4 start to the 2022 season to win their next eight in a row and take the AFC North crown, reminding everyone across the NFL landscape just how they managed to race all the way to Super Bowl LVI last season, only to fall just short.
And while the going is likely to continue to be good for Cincy given the young core they’ve assembled, franchise quarterback Joe Burrow becomes eligible for a gigantic contract extension following the end of the current season — and one year later, the same becomes true for former LSU teammate and fellow phenom Ja’Marr Chase out wide.
So, as an intriguing offseason period approaches, what are the team’s biggest contracts for the 2022 season? Who has the most money on the table in Cincy here and now? Boardroom has all your Bengals salary cap particulars, as well as a look-ahead to the 2023 campaign.
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Bengals Salary Cap 2022: Inside the Numbers
All dollar figures and cap estimates via Spotrac. Reflects a hard cap of $208.2 million.
So, are the Bengals over the salary cap? Check out their full spending breakdown as of Jan. 23, 2023:
Active contracts: $175,096,752
Dead cap money: $15,804,219
Total salary cap usage: $210,200,068
Salary cap space: $1,999,932
Cincinnati Bengals Contracts 2022: The Top 10
Includes the 10 largest active Bengals contracts by total value. All dollar figures via Spotrac.
1. DE Trey Hendrickson
- Contract: 4 years, $60,000,000
- 2022 salary: $11,976,460
- Free agency: 2025
Click here for Boardroom’s deep dive on Hendrickson’s deal with the Bengals.
2. DT D.J. Reader
- Contract: 4 years, $53,000,000
- 2022 salary: $9,485,290
- Free agency: 2024
3. RB Joe Mixon
- Contract: 4 years, $48,000,000
- 2022 salary: $8,611,754
- Free agency: 2025
NOTE: Mixon’s contract includes a team option for the 2024 season.
4. WR Tyler Boyd
- Contract: 4 years, $43,000,000
- 2022 salary: $8,685,280
- Free agency: 2024
5. DE Sam Hubbard
- Contract: 4 years, $40,000,000
- 2022 salary: $5,153,588
- Free agency: 2026
NOTE: Hubbard’s contract includes a potential out after the current season.
6. QB Joe Burrow
- Contract: 4 years, $36,172,403
- 2022 salary: $3,900,012
- Free agency: 2024 or 2025
NOTE: Burrow’s rookie deal includes a fifth-year team option for 2024.
Click here for Boardroom’s deep dive on Burrow’s contract with the Bengals.
7. OG Alex Cappa
- Contract: 4 years, $35,000,000
- 2022 salary: $13,441,180
- Free agency: 2026
NOTE: Cappa’s contract includes a potential out after the 2023 season.
8. WR Ja’Marr Chase
- Contract: 4 years, $30,819,641
- 2022 salary: $2,060,893
- Free agency: 2025 or 2026
NOTE: Chase’s rookie deal includes a fifth-year team option for 2025.
9. DT B.J. Hill
- Contract: 3 years, $30,000,000
- 2022 salary: $15,000,000
- Free agency: 2025
NOTE: Hill’s contract includes a potential out after the 2023 season.
10. CB Mike Hilton
- Contract: 4 years, $24,000,000
- 2022 salary: $3,911,754
- Free agency: 2025
2023 Bengals Free Agents
Cincinnati Bengals Salary Cap 2023: Looking Ahead
All dollar figures and cap estimates via Spotrac following Week 18 of the 2022 NFL season. Reflects an estimated 2023 hard cap of $225 million.
Active contracts: $131,351,563
Dead cap money: None
Total salary cap usage: $131,351,563
Salary cap space: $96,146,880
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