The Bengals and Eagles shared the same dream, but only the Bengals remain asleep
Another wide receiver got a bag Monday morning as the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to pay DeVonta Smith $75 million for three more years in the City of Brotherly Love. The extension makes Smith one of the highest-paid wideouts in the NFL, and is also the second large contract on Philadelphia's books at the position with A.J. […]
Another wide receiver got a bag Monday morning as the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to pay DeVonta Smith $75 million for three more years in the City of Brotherly Love.
The extension makes Smith one of the highest-paid wideouts in the NFL, and is also the second large contract on Philadelphia's books at the position with A.J. Brown's name attached to the other one. They also have quarterback Jalen Hurts locked in for over $50 million per year for the next half-decade.
Two receivers and a quarterback making big-time money was the future the Cincinnati Bengals have been building towards for the past two years. The Eagles just proved it to be a realistic dream, but it's too late for Cincinnati to wake up and follow suit.
Eagles pull off what the Bengals couldn't
Timing is how the Eagles were able to keep their own trio together. First, they traded for Brown during the 2022 NFL Draft and immediately signed him to a four-year extension worth $100 million. Brown was entering the last year of his rookie contract, so the Eagles were able to backload the deal over a period of five years.
Hurts was next up the following year. Philly extended its quarterback nearly a year after acquiring Brown in April of 2023, coming ahead of Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, and Burrow all inking their deals. Getting out in front of the quarterback market allowed the Eagles to land on a smaller Average Annual Value for the face of their franchise.
Philadelphia's front office has always been about getting the money squared away as soon as possible. It stayed true to their nature in getting Smith's deal done this week, which comes two weeks before the deadline to exercise his fifth-year option. The quicker the process, the easier the process.
The Eagles also used a tool the Bengals have rarely pulled out from the shed. Brown, Hurts, and Smith all have void years in their contracts, which absorb large cap hits following the expiration of each deal. The Eagles will pay the trio a combined $143,017,200 without having to put any of that on the books while the contracts are active. Hurts makes up about 68% of that total alone.
All of that money put into void years means lower cap hits for the present. Brown's highest cap hit is $41.5 million and it's only for the last year of his deal in 2026. Hurts will count for over $40 million against the cap just twice in 2027 and 2028. Smith's highest cap hit is barely over $20 million in 2028.
By getting financially creative and putting off large payments until the future, the Eagles were able to satisfy all three components of their trio, and still have enough cap space to build out the rest of the roster. The Bengals had aspirations of matching the Eagles' timing here, and falling just short was the downfall of the operation.
Why the Bengals' trio is not long to stick together
The Bengals quickly identified quarterback Joe Burrow, and receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as their trio to build around following the 2021 season. Projecting enormous deals for all three began during the 2022 offseason before any of them were eligible for new deals, but it was all on the horizon in 2023.
They got the first step right by extending Burrow before his fourth season began, and it took all the way up to the final days of the offseason. Burrow's deal is more lucrative than Hurts' and it comes with five years of cap hits exceeding $40 million, including three years over $50 million. A meager $9 million was set aside in void years.
Already, the playing field is not as level. Burrow is making more money than Hurts, and his deal has a greater impact on the Bengals' cap health as well. Still, getting Burrow done before the salary cap saw its 2024 raise was critical.
Getting Higgins done alongside Burrow was equally important, and that didn't happen.
The Bengals' proposed price for Higgins is unknown, but it's clearly not what Higgins' camp has in mind. Their disconnect has led to the club placing the franchise tag on him, which is never a good sign towards a future agreement in Cincinnati. Michael Johnson, A.J. Green, and Jessie Bates III can all attest to that.
Even if the Bengals were to beat the odds and strike a deal with Higgins, the deal would be closer to what Higgins has in mind. He's watched several receivers of his caliber get the bag this offseason, and Smith's $25 million AAV is looking like a sturdy floor for him to exceed. Smith is also guaranteed over $50 million if he stays on the Eagles' roster for the next two years. That's a realm the Bengals aren't likely to enter with Higgins, and it would be larger than what both Smith and Brown previously agreed to.
If the Bengals and Higgins couldn't reach an agreement before all of these new deals came to be, there's a minuscule chance a deal is ever reached. It's now become a more expensive endeavor to keep him alongside Burrow and Chase, whether you look at total money or guarantees.
Speaking of Chase, he's in another realm compared to Brown, Smith, and Higgins. He's rightfully waiting for Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb to reset the top of the receiver market much like Burrow likely waited for Hurts, Jackson, and Herbert to reset the quarterback market last year. The plan has always been to get Chase settled by the end of the 2025 offseason, and it'll end up costing Cincinnati well north of $30 million a year.
Timing is everything
On the surface, Burrow, Higgins, and Chase is set to be much more expensive than Brown, Hurts, and Smith. Future cap inflation can offset some of the difference, but all three players wanting to be paid at the top of the two most lucrative positional markets has made the Bengals' plan of attack costlier than previously imagined.
Burrow and Chase are elite players that deserve top-of-the-market treatment. Higgins wanting to join that club has made the dream much harder to accomplish.
Philadelphia chased their dream at the right time. Cincinnati will have to wake up and dream of something else.
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