But waiting in the locker room was perhaps the most important one: Quarterback Joe Burrow, who showed the public who really is in charge. “I think everybody was confident we’d get Ja’Marr done,” Burrow told the Bengals’ website. “But to be able to get Tee done along with that speaks volumes about ownership, Duke, Zac.”

Bengals Cost Themselves Cap Space With Questionable Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins Contract Structure. The Bengals could've maximized their cap space with a few simple tweaks to Chase and Higgins' contracts.

So how do the contracts signed by Justin Jefferson of the Vikings and Ja'Marr Chase of the Bengals compare? As it relates to new-money annual average (an often flawed way to value contracts), Jefferson is at $35 million per year and Chase is at $40.