**DEALMAKERS:** Rocky Arceneaux, the agent for Chase and Higgins, and the Bengals pulled off Tuesday's rare solar event with two major deals for players at the same position on the same team.
Arceneaux, a veteran of more than 30 years in the agent game, had a full-circle moment with the club. As he celebrated with slices of a pizza supplied by Bengals equipment staffers, he recalled the 1994 scouting combine when he toured Indianapolis with his client Marshall Faulk, the San Diego State running back, New Orleans native, and odds-on favorite to be the overall No. 1 pick.
The Bengals had the pick and Arceneaux thought he would be negotiating that record deal in Cincinnati. In the ensuing two months between the combine and the draft, Ohio State defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson and his monstrous workouts also emerged as a consensus No. 1 and the Bengals went defense.
But on Tuesday, the Bengals secured Chase, another New Orleans phenom, for the long term with that record deal that eluded Arceneaux 31 years ago. Add Higgins and the fact Chase's running style reminds many of the low-to-the-ground Faulk, and karma proved to be the topping of the day.
"I thought we had one. Now 30 years later we've got two," Arceneaux said.
When Arceneaux and assistant Caitlin Aoki walked out of Tuesday's final session at Paycor with Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn and director of player personnel Duke Tobin, the deals for a combined yearly average of $69 million were the highest ever for non-quarterback teammate duos.
It was a first for the Bengals too, as Blackburn added to her already full resume. Twice she's done the richest deals ever (Burrow and Carson Palmer) and now in one day she wrapped up the richest non-quarterback deal to go with a top-tier receiver deal.
"You have to give credit all the way around," Arceneaux said. "It just shows the feeling Ja'Marr and Tee have for each other. Joe (Burrow) obviously felt strong about it. Those guys made a commitment to each other. They wanted to see things through with Joe and it was important to me to try and make it happen."
This year's scouting combine apparently provided the turning point for the negotiations.
While Cincinnati reporters were interviewing special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons at a downtown Indy hotel, Blackburn and Arceneaux slid past the group and into a room where she told the agent the Bengals wanted to sign Higgins and not trade him while on the franchise tag.
The deals then started to come together.
"It was a trust factor with those guys and the organization," Arceneaux said.
Arceneaux also could confirm that Bengals president Mike Brown, a big fan of quarterbacks and receivers, was in an upbeat mood when he walked into Tuesday's meeting to greet the players.
"I haven't seen him smile like that in a long time," Arceneaux said. "Hopefully those guys bring the Super Bowls to him. I know that's what he's committed to."