PALM BEACH, Fla. \_ Marc Ganis is so tied into the financial hierarchy of the NFL as an informal/ unofficial advisor that he's been called the "33rd owner," and is as much a part of the landscape this week during the league's annual meetings as the cascading fountains guarding the oceanside resort at The Breakers.
Ganis, president, managing director, and co-founder of the Chicago-based Sportscorp Ltd., broke away from hallway huddles with everyone from league execs to wayward scribes long enough to give a thumbs-up to the Bengals for signing wider receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to the record deals that keep them in Cincinnati for four more seasons.
"I just think it's impressive that they kept the trio. You have to count (Joe) Burrow in there," said Ganis of the Bengals quarterback. "One thing the Bengals have that very few do is they have three playmakers on offense. "Very rare and you don't want to give that up. They found a way to keep them together and they did."
Ganis kept watching the Bengals after the Super Bowl season of 2021. Each time, he's watched them decisively answer the questions.
"Burrow was the next great quarterback and face of the league and the question was if they would step up and pay him like the Chiefs did Patrick Mahomes," Ganis said. "They did. And kept him including massive guaranteed money. They deserve some credit.
"Then the question was if they could keep the two receivers. And they did."
Ganis was around 18 years before the Bengals made Burrow the richest player when they did the same for Carson Palmer. He saw them make Willie Anderson the highest-paid tackle ever twice and if you want to talk receivers, a decade ago A.J. Green got a top-three deal. So did defensive tackle Geno Atkins.
The Bengals did it their way, by making sure the salary cap charges in the out years are as workable as the charges in the early years in order to prevent a ballooning cap number that could possibly make one of the two cap casualties before the end of 2028 or force a bloodletting of the roster.
"Each team has to find out what's best for them. It's just not about what this year's about," Ganis said. "It's what about the next year and the year after that. Players you want to keep. Players you think you can move on from.
"It's the allocation of the dollars and its planning for the future. It's not a one-year thing. It's a continuum."
Ganis says in a salary cap situation with such big deals, there can be compromises, probably on the defensive side of the ball. But that can be countered with young players who pan out at key positions on rookie deals.
He felt the Bengals were on the verge of becoming one of the NFL glamour teams until injuries derailed some of the more recent runs. He thinks keeping the Big Three together ("It's what the Cowboys had with Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin") can put them right back in the glamour business.
"Lets see what happens now," Ganis said. "It's impressive what they've done.
"It's also a demonstration of the NFL. No matter how large your market is, it doesn't matter. You can keep your best players."