Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins look to push each other, Bengals to new heights - ESPN

CINCINNATI — Ja'Marr Chase was still trying to grasp the levity of the moment.

Up until three weeks ago, the idea that he and fellow Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins were going to sign long-term extensions felt distant. Each star player had gone through his own set of difficult and embattled negotiations in previous years.

But things slowly started to turn their way. Quarterback Joe Burrow continued to campaign for them to receive new deals. The front office expressed support for paying both players.

That set the scene for Tuesday, when Chase and Higgins arrived in Cincinnati to finalize their new four-year contracts. Chase's $161 million deal, which carries the highest average annual salary for a non-quarterback in league history, runs through 2029. Higgins' deal, worth $115 million, runs through 2028.

«Signing us together, that's the whole goal,» Chase said Tuesday at Paycor Stadium. «For us to push this team, push each other as far as we can go. The one goal is to be the best in the AFC first. That's going to give us the shot to get to the Super Bowl. If we win that first, then we're going to take the next step.»

It's fitting that Chase and Higgins appeared at a joint news conference, having played alongside each other the past four seasons. The Bengals drafted Higgins in the second round in 2020, and Chase was the No. 5 pick in 2021.

Both have been part of the franchise's turnaround and were instrumental in leading the Bengals to back-to-back AFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl appearance in February 2022, where Cincinnati lost to the Los Angeles Rams. Chase is a four-time Pro Bowl selection who made the All-Pro team in 2024, while Higgins has amassed 4,595 receiving yards and 34 touchdowns in five