The Cincinnati Bengals have officially signed Ja’Marr Chase to a four-year contract extension through the 2029 season and Tee Higgins to a four-year contract through the 2028 season, the team announced Tuesday.
Chase, a fifth-year player out of LSU, was selected by the Bengals with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He has played in 62 career regular-season games with 61 starts for Cincinnati and caught 395 passes for 5,425 yards and 46 touchdowns.
His receiving yardage and receiving scores each are the third-most in a player’s first four seasons in NFL history, while his receptions are fourth-most. He also leads the NFL in touchdown catches since entering the league in 2021 while ranking third in receiving yards and sixth in receptions in that span.
“Ja’Marr and Tee have proven they are outstanding wide receivers. Together with Joe Burrow, we have a very potent offense. That gives us a foundation to win games. It’s hard to cover both of them. We are fortunate to have this pair of receivers,” said Bengals owner Mike Brown in a press release.
Chase is one of six players in NFL history to begin his career with four consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. He holds a career average of 87.5 receiving yards per game, the second-highest rate in NFL history.
Chase leads the NFL in touchdown receptions of 40+ yards (18), 50+ yards (13), and 60+ yards (12) since the start of his 2021 rookie season. His 12 scoring catches of at least 60 yards also are the most in a career in Bengals history and the most by a player under the age of 25 since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger.
Chase is coming off a historic 2024 season in which he led the NFL in receptions (127), receiving yards (1708), and receiving TDs (17) to become the sixth winner of the “Triple Crown” in the Super Bowl era. His catch total and receiving yardage each set a Bengals single-season record, while his 17 touchdowns tied the franchise record set by wideout Carl Pickens in 1995.
In seven playoff games, Chase holds Bengals postseason records for receptions (45) and receiving yards (588). His 588 receiving yards are the second-most in a player’s first seven postseason games in NFL history, behind former Washington wideout Charlie Brown (643; 1982-83).
Higgins, a sixth-year player out of Clemson, was a second-round draft pick of the Bengals in 2020. He has played in 70 career regular-season games with 62 starts, catching 330 passes for 4595 yards and 34 touchdowns. His touchdown receptions are tied for 14th in the NFL since he entered the league in 2020, while his receiving yardage ranks 18th.
Higgins has recorded at least 900 receiving yards in four of his five pro seasons, including back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns in 2021 and ‘22. He has 14 career 100-yard receiving games, with six occurring in the month of December. He is the fifth-fastest player in Bengals history to reach 4000 career receiving yards (63 regular-season games) and the fourth-fastest to 300 career receptions (65 games).
In 2024, Higgins ranked second on the Bengals in receptions (73), receiving yards (911) and receiving touchdowns (10). His 10 scoring grabs were a career-high and tied for sixth in the NFL.
In seven playoff games, Higgins ranks second in team history in postseason receptions (31), second in receiving yards (457), and third in receiving average (14.7 yards per catch). He has two 100-yard receiving performances in the postseason, with 103 in the AFC Championship Game victory over the Kansas City Chiefs following the 2021 season and 100 in Super Bowl LVI.
Who Dey!!