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The competitive relationship between the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase and Vikings’ Justin Jefferson is well-documented.
During their time in the NFL, the former LSU teammates have been known to engage in friendly banter, each claiming that they’re the league’s best wide receiver. So it should come as no surprise that Chase wouldn’t mind getting his second contract after Jefferson.
That would mean, of course, that Chase would likely reset the wide receiver market. Entering his fifth-year option in 2024, Jefferson is also eligible for a new deal.
“Hell yeah,” Chase laughed, when asked if Jefferson needed to ink his second deal before him. “I’m just enjoying what’s in front of me right now.”
Chase, the fifth overall pick in the 2021 draft, is extension-eligible this offseason after completing three NFL campaigns. The three-time Pro Bowler has surpassed 1,000 yards receiving yards each year, including 1,455 in his first season en route to AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, which set a then-NFL rookie record in the Super Bowl era (broken this year by the Rams’ Puka Nacua, who had 1,486 yards).
Chase had 100 catches for 1,216 yards and seven touchdowns this past season with backup quarterback Jake Browning playing nearly half the season.
With the Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill ($30 million per year) and Raiders’ Davante Adams ($28 million) currently atop the wide receiver market in terms of average annual value, Chase could push for $35 million annually, considering his youth and the ballooning wide receiver market. Adams and Hill were 29 and 28 years old, respectively, when they received their record-setting deals. Chase is just 23.
