When Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow signs on the dotted line, he’ll likely become the highest paid player in NFL history.
Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers broke new ground when they agreed to a deal worth $50.2 million per year in 2022. That is now the baseline for what Burrow and his fellow 2020 NFL Draft peers are set to receive.
The question isn’t if Burrow will top $50 million per year, it’s how much more he’ll make than that. Pro Football Focus salary cap expert Brad Spielberger projects Burrow to sign a four-year deal worth $53.5 million per year, with $185 million guaranteed at signing.
Both figures would be the largest in NFL history, with the exception of Deshaun Watson’s fully guaranteed $230 million deal from last year.
The Bengals should have no issue agreeing to an AAV of that magnitude with the salary cap increasing every year. What will be tricky in the on-going negotiations is the amount of guaranteed money.
Also, how it’s distributed throughout the deal. Spielberger suggests the Bengals will have to dish out the largest signing bonus in league history to avoid guaranteeing much beyond the first year of the deal. “Because of Cincinnati’s resistance to guaranteeing money beyond the first year of a contract, Burrow should also push to get a larger signing bonus than Dak Prescott’s record $66 million figure.”
“With Burrow’s fifth-year option valued at $29.5 million, he’s scheduled to earn $35.045 million over the next two years before the extension years kick in.” – PFF’s Brad Spielberger
Cincinnati has had a reputation of being “cash poor” in the free agency era, but they’ve never been shy about paying quarterbacks.
Carson Palmer and Andy Dalton both received massive extensions relative to the salary cap in their days as Bengals. Just last month, the front office flexed its liquidity by giving Orlando Brown Jr. the largest signing bonus an offensive lineman has ever received.
Recent success on the field and in corporate sponsorships has made the franchise a lot of dough, and most of it will go towards Burrow and his most valuable teammates. Bengals executive VP Katie Blackburn talked about both sides being “happy together” regarding the impending deal. Any deal Burrow signs will make the Bengals and their fans elated.
