The Bengals told us exactly who they are by extending Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins

The Cincinnati Bengals have several holes to plug when it comes to a defense that gave up more points than all but seven NFL teams in 2025. Rather than spend big amidst a middling free agent marketplace this offseason, they decided to invest in an offense that could make defensive lapses a moot point.

That meant keeping star wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as the truest arrows in quarterback Joe Burrow's quiver. With Chase in the final year of his rookie contract and Higgins franchise tagged for a second straight season, Burrow's offense was at risk of a reset. On Sunday night, the Bengals refused that rebuild.

Cincinnati signed its star wideout duo to a pair of four-year extensions worth a combined $276 million, per Jordan Schultz. That's $116 million for Higgins and $161 for 2024's receiving triple crown winner Chase.

It's a massive deal for Higgins and a record-breaking one for Chase, who becomes the league's highest-paid non-quarterback and, importantly, signed a deal worth $21 million more than the four-year, $140 million extension Justin Jefferson signed last year to become the league's richest wideout. This deal doesn't just reset the wideout market; it shatters the curve, paying Cincinnati's WR1 15 percent more annually than a guy whose 96.5 average receiving yards per game are the most in NFL history.

These aren't just two megadeals. They're a statement. Between Chase, Higgins and Burrow the Bengals are setting aside an average of $124 million per year on three players. That's more than 44 percent of the 2025 salary cap. Assuming a bump of around $16 million for next year's cap, it'll be nearly 42 percent of the 2026 spending limit.

That's a big deal! The Kansas City Chiefs' biggest stars, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Chris Jones, make an average of less than $94 million annually. It also doesn't have to mean Cincinnati is spending unwisely. The reigning NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles are doling out a little more than $124 million, in terms of annual average contract value, to the dynamic foursome of Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, Saquon Barkley and Lane Johnson.

What the Eagles have that the Bengals do not, however, is a defense buoyed by inexpensive young stars. Philadelphia's Super Bowl run was built on a rising secondary led by first-year players Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. Milton Williams was playing out the final year of his rookie contract. Josh Sweat's 2021 contract extension paid him a relatively modest $13.3 million per season and Zack Baun provided All-Pro play on a bargain one-year, $3 million deal.

Cincinnati, on the other hand, has one defensive star and he's looking for trade partners as it becomes clearer and clearer another big money extension may not be in his Bengal future. Trey Hendrickson had 17.5 sacks in a 2024 season where the rest of his teammates combined for 18.5. Giving him the top of the market deal he deserves at age 30 doesn't vibe with Cincinnati's spending. In order to make a 51-man roster where three guys make up nearly half the total salary cap, bargains have to be found elsewhere.

That's a reasonable strategy, but recent returns have been frustrating for the Bengals. Cincinnati has had 10 picks in the first three rounds of the last three NFL Drafts. Eight of them were on defensive players. They've contributed to a unit that ranked eight in expected points added (EPA) allowed in the season after 2021's Super Bowl run, then fell to 27th each of the last two years -- years that ended without playoff invitations.

Putting a major bet on developing young stars after a run like that is a risky proposition. It's one Cincinnati had to make, since Hendrickson was a Ferrari left to drive on Arctic Circle ice roads thanks to all the help around him. Rather than jump into a bidding war for players like Sweat or Williams or drop $18 million annually on good-not-great cornerbacks like Carlton Davis or Paulson Adebo, the Bengals opted to buy into an expensive insurance plan just in case their string of defensive developmental disappointments isn't quite over. They're going to try and out-run opponents every week in a five-month stretch of track meets.

Hoping Burrow, Chase and Higgins (along with young tailback Chase Brown) can provide the fireworks that baffle opponents into submission isn't a terrible decision. The cliche suggests defense wins championships, but top 10 offenses have won the last nine Super Bowls. With that trio together, Cincinnati ranked 13th in EPA per play in 2021, fifth in 2022, 13th in 2023 with Jake Browning starting seven games at quarterback and seventh last fall. Granted, last year's top 10 finish resulted in nine wins and third place in the AFC North, but if you're wagering on one side of the Bengals to be championship worthy, the correct answer was always going to be the offense.

Thus, Cincinnati got a minor bargain for Higgins -- he'll make less than D.K. Metcalf just signed for in Pittsburgh -- and overpaid for Chase, who has to be 15 percent better than Justin Jefferson to justify his contract. That's very unlikely, and this deal is more akin to Laremy Tunsil leveraging Bill O'Brien's terrible management to a curve-breaking, market-resetting three-year, $66 million contract with the Houston Texans at a time no offensive lineman was making more than $20 million per year. It could force similar roster-building constraints, but it will at least be more fun to watch than a Pro Bowl tackle doing his thing repelling edge rushers. Like with Tunsil, this is also a deal that could have been done earlier at a lower cost -- if Cincinnati extended these guys last offseason, they'd probably be making closer to $60 million per year than the $70 million made possible by this year's larger-than-expected salary cap increase.

Still, it's paying for quality, which has its virtues. The question is whether these massive moves will provide actual substance for the Bengals or more empty calories. Cincinnati has brought fireworks to the battlefield the last two seasons. While it's been entertaining to watch, it hasn't helped the team win in any meaningful way. Extending Chase and Higgins is doubling down on that in hopes of recapturing 2021's lightning and hoping some unexpected stars can contribute for significantly less money.

It's a risk, but the alternative was alienating a player on pace to be the best quarterback in franchise history. The Bengals made Joe Burrow happy (and Ja'Marr Chase *extremely* happy) and announced their intentions to the world. Maybe the defense will show up. Maybe not. But if you're traveling to Cincinnati the next four seasons, you'd better bring your track spikes.

Grade: A- for Higgins, B for Chase and A for keeping Joe Burrow happy rather than falling victim to another three decade stretch without a playoff win.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Grading the Bengals' historic, expensive deals with Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins