NFL insider makes an NBA analogy when talking about Bengals' future
As soon as the offseason began, the focus for the Cincinnati Bengals has been building a long-term winner around Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. Burrow might be the franchise quarterback and maybe even the face of the city of Cincinnati, but the organization isn't planning for any future that doesn't involve all three players. […]
As soon as the offseason began, the focus for the Cincinnati Bengals has been building a long-term winner around Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins.
Burrow might be the franchise quarterback and maybe even the face of the city of Cincinnati, but the organization isn't planning for any future that doesn't involve all three players.
That will require interesting financial decisions from the front office, and many sacrifices will have to be across the roster. This began in free agency when veterans such as Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell left for big pay days. They will not be the last big-name players on this roster to leave in the coming years.
ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter put it in an interesting, yet accurate way this week. While he feels Burrow and Chase staying with the team is a given, Higgins sticking around with them will force the Bengals to adopt a team-building strategy seen in the NBA.
"I think this team looks like a modern NBA team," Schefter said on NFL Live. "You give a supermax contract to Joe Burrow, a max contract to Ja'Marr Chase, a max contract to Tee Higgins, and then everybody else you get a lot of young rookies who are cheap and talented and try to fill in from there."
He may sound a bit out there, but he's not wrong.
Burrow's deal will essentially look like an actual NBA supermax deal, as it will exceed $50 million per year and cover a period of at least five years. The Bengals can be creative with how this will affect their future cap space, but it will undoubtedly be the largest deal on their books during its lifespan.
Chase and Higgins will each land average salaries around the $25-$30 million per year range, which is closer to what an NBA max deal ends up as compared to a supermax. There are only nine non-quarterbacks who take home at least $25 million per year in AAV.
Taking on all three of these contracts at the same time will be a gargantuan task for the Bengals, and Schefter's prediction of rostering young and cheap players to supplement the team is on the right track. Even with the salary cap inevitably going up every year, the team will only be able to fit so many sizable deals to go with their big three.
Should the Bengals execute their plan and lock in Burrow and his main receivers, the team will undoubtedly look very different in the coming years.
Featured image via © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
