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Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown has a way with words. The notoriously stingy owner spoke about the multiple star players who are up for new contracts soon, and although he used a strange pig metaphor to discuss the upcoming Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins, and Ja’Marr Chase contract extensions, he does have a point.
“We have some good players that need to be fed,” Brown said at the team’s annual media luncheon. “That's a challenge. It's mathematical. You get a bag of corn, and you have 10 hogs. Well, you're going to put that out to them. The bag's going to be empty. And some of them aren't going to get it.”
The “hogs” he’s referring to are the stars that the team has drafted in the last several years, and the “bag of corn” is, of course, the money in the NFL salary cap. While the imagery was strange, Mike Brown and the Bengals are indeed looking at some tough decisions in the next few years.
As members of the 2020 NFL Draft class, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Tee Higgins are due contract extensions soon. Cincinnati has Burrow under contract for one more season after this one, but as a second-round pick, Higgins’ deal is up after this season.
Additionally, linebacker Logan Wilson was a third-round pick that year and has also become a star player, as has WR Ja’Marr Chase, who was the team’s first-round pick the year after Burrow.
Having a superstar QB on a rookie deal is the most valuable contract chip in the NFL. Now, the hard work starts for the Bengals front office because when Burrow gets his mega-deal, signing everyone else is going to get a lot harder.
