One of the more fascinating pieces of offseason NFL business in 2025 concluded late Sunday night as news emerged that Cincinnati Bengals WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins had jointly agreed to long-term contract extensions to remain with a franchise that has historically struggled to sustain success (and definitely no guarantee that will even be the case this time around, but more on that later).
Regardless, the core triumvirate (including QB Joe Burrow) of what could be the league’s most fearsome passing attack is locked up for the foreseeable future – which means some serious winners in The Queen City … and also some significant losers:
WINNERS
Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins
Collectively, they’re the most expensive wideout duo in NFL history, per reports. Chase, who won the receiving triple crown in 2024 (his 127 catches for 1,708 yards and 17 TDs all paced the league), landed a four-year, $161 million pact to become the best-compensated non-quarterback ever – his $40.3 million average annual salary topping the one Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett recently signed. Higgins’ four-year, $115 million deal ranks among the ten richest in the wideout space – especially impressive negotiating from his (and Chase’s) agent, Rocky Arceneaux, given Higgins has only played two full seasons during his five-year NFL career, never caught even 75 balls in a campaign and has averaged 919 yards per.
Micah Parsons
Just as Garrett set the bar for Chase, he may have well done the same for Parsons. The Dallas Cowboys’ All-Pro linebacker is due $24 million in 2025, the fifth-year option of his rookie contract. And given procrastinating team owner Jerry Jones’ propensity to grant top-of-market payouts (Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb), Parsons seems squarely in line to benefit next from that approach – particularly with Jones sitting on approximately $40 million of cap space following recent restructures to the deals of Prescott and Lamb.
Mike Gesicki
The tight end, who only started three games in 2024, recently reached his own three-year extension with Cincinnati after catching 65 passes for 665 yards in his first year with the organization. Those numbers could very well spike given the attention Chase and Higgins will continue to command – especially since Gesicki should enjoy massive feeding grounds in the middle of the field on any given Sunday.
Joe Burrow, face of the franchise
When it comes to the Bengals, Joe Shiesty is the man – and publicly crusaded prior to Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans that Cincinnati needed to retain its nucleus while expressing his admiration for the way the eventual champion Philadelphia Eagles didn’t seem to have much of a problem doing exactly that. Ultimatum might be too strong a descriptor, but the implied threat was pretty obvious – and now Burrow has (pretty much) gotten his way from an organization not known for writing massive checks relative to the league wage scale.
LOSERS
Joe Burrow, NFL and fantasy superstar?
The quarterback remarkably finished fourth in last season’s MVP race even though the Bengals didn’t even make the playoffs. He did lead the NFL with 460 completions, 652 pass attempts, 4,918 yards and 43 TDs through the air – numbers somewhat a byproduct of necessity given Cincinnati’s rampant defensive struggles and a breathless playoff push down the stretch that fell one win short of postseason qualification. Yet Burrow may have to be even better in 2025 – does that mean challenging Hall of Famer Peyton Manning’s single-season records for passing yards (5,477) and touchdowns (55)? – now that his demands have essentially been granted despite a largely unchanged roster’s remaining flaws. But is that realistic to expect? Or even fair? Oh, wait – no one ever said the NFL is fair. Pressure’s on, Joey B.
Justin Jefferson
The Minnesota Vikings All-Pro – and Chase’s college teammate at LSU – set the bar for wideout money last June with a four-year pact averaging $35 million. Chase badly wanted to top it in 2024 – if only by $1 annually – but has now put that bar out of sight. Jefferson is unlikely to seek an adjustment any time soon, and his numbers may not warrant that for a while anyway as his team pivots to QB J.J. McCarthy, who has yet to throw a regular-season pass in the NFL.
Trey Hendrickson
The Bengals’ All-Pro defensive end – and league’s Defensive Player of the Year runner-up in 2024 – continues to await his own financial resolution, one Burrow also plead for. He’s owed $16 million in 2025, the final year of Hendrickson’s contract and well shy of what premium pass rushers make – basically 40% of what Garrett will average over the life of his extension. But given the windfall Chase and Higgins just caught, what’s left for Hendrickson, who’s been permitted to seek a trade that hasn’t yet materialized? Maybe the Bengals figure out a way to come through here. And maybe this is headed for an ugly summer showdown that could precipitate another early season distraction that costs Cincinnati dearly in the win column yet again.
Duke Tobin and Zac Taylor
Tobin, the Bengals’ director of player personnel – still no GM title – boxed himself in with Chase after publicly conceding at the scouting combine that the wideout deserved to be the league’s top-paid non-QB. Too bad he and the team didn’t act on that realization immediately given Garrett’s subsequent lottery basically cost Cincy another $20+ million. But Tobin’s (and head coach Taylor’s) problems are far from over. Whether or not Hendrickson – the only impact player on this largely pathetic defense – returns, this roster needs ample fortifications. Tobin typically manages that via the draft and often doesn’t get deserved credit for the work he does there. But he really needs to hit on some young players to supplement what is now a depth chart that’s almost completely out of whack financially and one that can hardly afford the injuries Burrow and Higgins have too often dealt with professionally given depth also looms as a major concern.
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