The Bengals ended the season being 3rd in the AFC North, registering a 9-8 win-loss record. But the best part for the team was, out of 9 wins in the regular season, five came in the final weeks of the season. People started believing in their chances of making the playoffs. However, that didn’t happen. But now, after the season is over, WR Ja’Marr Chase threw a curve ball during his appearance in the Pro Bowl.

An NFL reporter asked Ja’Marr, who has participated in the Pro Bowl, “What do you hope changes for next year?” Chase replied, “Honestly, I hope we just finish stronger, finish better, finish faster. Even start off better, cause starting off better will help us in the back-end of the year. So, it’s just the smaller things that we got to clean up.” The Bengals were fabulous at defense this year with Chase and Joe Burrow on their lead, but couldn’t clinch the postseason spot.

Ja’Marr Chase continued, “Get a couple of things that we got to clean up, get a couple of things on defense hopefully that will make us even better and just proceed to make corrections on offense that are going to get us in the right direction.” Well, the whole of Cincinnati knows that if Burrow and Co. had started with few wins, they would have been in the playoffs this year. But the truth is… they have to hope for the next year to start strong.

But you know apart from throwing his teammates under the bus, the Bengals star wideout has been hoping for a great deal ahead from the franchise front office. Wanna know what he said about it? Let’s dive in. 

Ja’Marr Chase hopes for a ‘fair’ deal from the franchise 

The Bengals star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has been dealing with the contract extension. His current contract, which he signed as a rookie in 2021, is $30,819,641 and it was a four-year deal. His signing amount for the rookie deal was $19,774,284 and for the 2025 season, he will earn $21,816,000 as a base salary which is also his cap hit. Importantly the contract also has an opportunity for 5th Year Option. 

So, Ja’Marr has entered into the final year of his rookie deal. And when asked about it by NFL reporters, all Chase said was, “At the end of the day, I just hope I get what’s fair.” But what does that mean? We must assume that Ja’Marr must be talking about his performance in the 2024 season. The star wide receiver was top in all the receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. He further added, “Hopefully I don’t put too much pressure on anybody, but I just want it to be fair, that’s all.” But what, according to him, is fair?

Talking about what’s “fair” according to him, Chase continued his stance on contract extension, saying, “Fair is what I deserve. I can’t really say everything I want to say. It’s what I deserve, it’s what I’ve worked for, how hard I worked for. It’s a written story already. It should be a fair change.” Alright. The wide receiver has a point to ask for it, though. 

Top Comment by workj

Yes and there is nothing in that article that says he is throwing any one under the bus. Stop trying...more

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Debate

The NFL season is set to start on September 6, 2025, and the Bengals must be willing to start winning the games from the start to avoid the hustle in the last three to four weeks. But let’s see if Ja’Marr Chase will receive good news regarding the extension or not.