He was an All-Pro and an AFC champ as a rookie, and somehow, his future is even brighter — let’s take a closer look at the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase salary particulars.
Ja’Marr Chase had such an incredible 2019 sophomore season with the national champion LSU Tigers that he decided to sit out the following campaign and ride things out on the way to NFL Draft eligibility by working out on his own. No matter how you slice it, the decision by the Biletnikoff Award winner was one hell of a mic drop, and the Tigers quickly went 5-5 in 2020 without him.
Naturally, the wide receiver’s ascension into the professional ranks was met with equal parts hype and intrigue regarding how he’d acclimate to football’s highest level after a year away. After going No. 5 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals, he quickly posted nearly 1,500 yards and 13 receiving touchdowns en route to Pro Bowl and Second Team All-Pro honors.
Yep, “ring rust” isn’t real.
All that on-field value right out of the gate got us thinking — how much salary is the young Bayou Bengal and budding tier-one star earning in exchange for catching passes from college teammate Joe Burrow?
Let’s take a closer look at the details of the Bengals’ entry-level Ja’Marr Chase contract.
Click here for Boardroom’s full breakdown of the NFL’s highest-paid players of the 2022 season.
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Ja’Marr Chase Contract & Salary Breakdown
All figures via Spotrac.
- Years: 4 (team option for fifth year)
- Total Value: $30,819,641
- Total guaranteed: $30,819,641
- Average annual value: $7,704,910
- Free Agency: 2025 or 2026
The Bengals will be expected to cut a massive check as soon as Burrow is eligible for a contract extension in the 2023 offseason, but Chase will himself become eligible the following year. Given the explosive growth in spending on young wide receiver talent around the league, there’s a chance that the Cincy phenom will land a deal in the neighborhood of the most lucrative all-time for a wide receiver by either total value or average annual value (pending what Justin Jefferson lands from the Vikings).
In the meantime, expect the Bengals brass and fanbase alike to continue thanking their lucky stars that they have two young operators on offense making rookie scale.
Ja’Marr Chase’s NFL Earnings
Numbers via Spotrac.
TOTAL NFL SALARY EARNINGS THRU 2022: $22,495,177
PROJECTED EARNINGS THRU 2024: $30,819,642
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