Bengals: Timing matters regarding Joe Burrow's extension
Just two quarterbacks remain in what was originally a four-way standoff to officially reset the market. Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts kicked things off with a five-year, $255 million contract, making him the highest-paid NFL player in history… for about two weeks. Former league MVP Lamar Jackson topped his deal by getting $260 million over […]
Just two quarterbacks remain in what was originally a four-way standoff to officially reset the market.
Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts kicked things off with a five-year, $255 million contract, making him the highest-paid NFL player in history… for about two weeks. Former league MVP Lamar Jackson topped his deal by getting $260 million over five years after an elongated negotiation with the Baltimore Ravens.
It's rare enough to see two franchise QBs reset the market in such a short timespan. To have four in one offseason will end any remaining doubt of the league's owner's willingness to buck up and pay their guys. Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow will be no exception.
Over the next few months, Burrow and Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert will be preparing for the season on the practice fields while their representatives will be trying to one-up the other at the negotiating table.
As ESPN's Bill Barnwell points out in his latest predictions article, both quarterbacks are all but certainly going to get paid this Summer. It's just a matter of how soon, and who gets to sign first. The one to sign last will end up getting the biggest deal, even if the difference is marginal.
"Both the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers are going to pay up. The only question is who blinks first. Regardless of what each player has accomplished, the quarterback who signs his deal last will end up with the most money. The difference might amount to only a half-million dollars per year on a contract paying Burrow or Herbert more than $52 million per season, but it's a nice little bonus for winning this four-way game of QB contract chicken. I'd expect both Burrow and Herbert to sign before the start of the 2023 season, although their deals might not come before the start of camp." – Barnwell on Burrow and Herbert's inevitable deals.
Summertime paydays are a tradition in Cincinnati. Andy Dalton, A.J. Green, Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, and practically every other core player from the Marvin Lewis era received their first big extensions right before the regular season began.
The biggest contracts that have been dealt out by the front office since Zac Taylor took over have been towards external free agents. That will officially begin to change once Burrow and potentially Tee Higgins put pen to paper sometime this offseason.
From the start of training camp through the first week of September, all eyes will be on Burrow to see if he signs the Bengals' offer. That timeline makes it fairly likely he will wait a little longer than Herbert, which would only benefit the finalized totals and cashflows included.
