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Joe Burrow Used Smart Way to Show How Bengals Can Pay for His Key Targets

Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson are looking for contracts.

Madison Williams

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow warms up for a game.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow warms up for a game. / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
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Joe Burrow has made it clear he wants the Cincinnati Bengals to give contracts to Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson this offseason. And, maybe even draft some young talent.

So how are the Bengals going to afford to do all of this? Burrow had a clever response when ESPN's Stephen A. Smith asked him this on First Take.

"The cap is going up each year. We just got new TV deals, so the cap's going to continue to go up," Burrow said. "We all want to stay together, so we're all going to do what it takes to do that. We have great players that have done great things and deserve to be paid. They're going to be paid what they're worth, whether we do it or somebody else. I hope we do it."

It's going to be a big offseason for the Bengals, as Burrow said. Higgins is set to hit free agency this spring, while the Chase and Hendrickson are entering the final seasons of their respective contracts. It will be costly to keep all three stars on the squad, but Burrow thinks the Bengals can afford it. We'll see what ends up happening.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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