Justin Jefferson Contract: What Went Wrong in Ja'Marr Chase's Talks with Bengals?

Why the Ja'Marr Chase Contract Talks Broke Down

In the hours leading up to the Cincinnati Bengals' Week 1 loss to the New England Patriots, the team was still actively working to get a contract extension done with superstar wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase.

A deal ultimately didn’t come to fruition, and we now have some details on where talks fell apart. On his podcast, NFL Spotlight, The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov detailed what prevented the team and Chase from committing long-term.

“They tried Friday night. They even tried on Saturday into Saturday night, and they continued into Sunday morning, actually,” said Meirov. “They could not bridge the gap. It just was not happening.” There were numbers they couldn’t figure out. It was a cash-flow issue. The APY (average salary per year) was fine; it would have surpassed Justin Jefferson, but everything else was not there.

Understanding the Contract Dynamics

Meirov also added that the average annual value of the contract was in the $36 million range, which Chase’s camp was fine with, but they struggled with other aspects of the deal and ultimately were not able to close the gap.

• Years Issue: The Bengals likely wanted a four-year extension, while Chase was interested in a three-year contract.
• This shorter deal allows Chase to hit the market a year sooner, benefiting from an expected salary cap increase.

The Implications for the Season

Cash-flow issues might be connected to guarantees, signing bonuses, or the Bengals' actual operating cash fluidity.

With the season now underway, it looks increasingly likely that Chase will play this season under his fourth year on a rookie contract and that the two sides will return to the table next offseason.