The Bengals had fun taking a victory lap after they shocked the NFL and signed both receivers — Chase to a five-year deal worth close to $180 million, and Higgins to a four-year deal worth $115 million.

The team posted on Twitter/X a compilation of all of the media pundits who doubted the Bengals could get it done. And Tobin got a little spicy in the team’s press release.

“We have our receivers,” Tobin said. “The rest of the league can go find their own.”

But the reality is these moves were way out of character for the Bengals, long criticized as one of the NFL’s stingiest franchises.

Yes, the Bengals really do have the smallest scouting and football staffs in the league. They really did get into a messy divorce with former franchise quarterback Carson Palmer. They really did low-ball Chase and Higgins last season, to the point Chase held out of training camp. And they really did have a team policy of not guaranteeing any money past the first year of a contract, a rule that until now they had only broken for Burrow.

The reality is keeping Chase and Higgins may not have happened if not for Burrow applying repeated pressure on management. The Bengals were nothing before Burrow arrived in 2020, and he hasn’t been afraid to use his leverage.

He brought it up in early December — “I am confident … that I’m going to do what it takes to get [Tee] back,” Burrow said.

He did it again on New Year’s Eve — “You don’t want to make a living out of letting great players leave the building.”

Again at the Pro Bowl — “We have several guys like [Chase] who have stepped up for us and deserved to be paid.”

And again at the Super Bowl — “I know we all want to stay together, and we all want to make it happen.”

The Bengals, with the Palmer divorce still relatively fresh, finally took the hint and got the deals done this past week with agent Rocky Arceneaux, who represents both Chase and Higgins.

“I think it was a big help, [Burrow] just putting out little information, having our back,” Chase said. “We didn’t really set up a plan until after the season. It didn’t always go according to plan, there’s always bumps in the road, but I think we handled the situation well.”

Chase, who led the NFL in catches, yards and touchdowns in 2024, was going to get his contract no matter what. Initially set to play on his fifth-year option at $21.8 million, Chase got an extra four years and $160 million tacked onto his deal, which makes him the highest-paid receiver in the NFL.

But up until the NFL Combine three weeks ago, Higgins thought he was a goner. The Bengals placed the franchise tag on Higgins for a second straight year, guaranteeing him a salary of $26.7 million.

“Prior to the Combine, I didn’t feel like there was a chance in hell to get both of them to stay in Cincinnati,” Arceneaux told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “And we later learned that the Bengals were declining conversations about compensation for Tee. And that’s when I realized that they were more inclined to reward him instead of trading him. So, at that point, I think the structure and the tone of the negotiations took a turn for the better.”

While Higgins got paid nicely, he probably could have made more money by playing out his franchise tag i and hitting free agency in 2026. But Higgins wanted to remain in Cincinnati, which is all that matters. And the Bengals now find themselves in an unusual circumstance — their star players are all happy and well-compensated.

“Never any doubt that Katie [Blackburn] was finally going to say, ‘We want you here,’” Higgins said. “Just glad it happened, and I’m happy to be here.”

Now the Bengals have to figure out a way to improve their 25th-ranked defense with most of the money going to the offense. But with Higgins and Chase back, there is also momentum that defensive end Trey Hendrickson, given permission at the Combine to seek a trade, could come back on a reworked deal. Hendrickson led the NFL with 17½ sacks last year, and is set to make $16 million this season, or about half the going rate for top pass rushers.

The Bengals seem to be guided by one overarching philosophy: Do whatever it takes to keep Burrow happy.

“We got two of our best players re-signed. That’s a big deal,” Burrow said. “We’re doing the right things. We’re paying the right guys.”

What’s the deal?

Waiting a year to do deals for Chase and Higgins surely made them more expensive for the Bengals. The Cowboys are hearing similar criticisms for their lack of urgency to get a deal done for Micah Parsons, their three-time All-Pro who is playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract ($24 million).

The Cowboys chose not to do an extension with Parsons last season, and his price tag seemingly increases every day. Parsons, with 52½ sacks and nine forced fumbles in four seasons, has a good case to surpass Myles Garrett and Chase, both at $40 million per year, as the highest-paid non-quarterback.

But what if the Cowboys are playing it slow not out of ineptitude, but because they have genuine concerns about Parsons and his fit in the locker room? Last year, former coach Mike McCarthy was disappointed that Parsons didn’t attend voluntary offseason workouts. Parsons also got into a spat with then-teammate Malik Hooker, who questioned Parsons’s commitment in light of Parsons’s weekly in-season podcast with Bleacher Report that didn’t sit well with some teammates. And Parsons enjoys being on social media, which led to another public beef last week, with former teammate DeMarcus Lawrence, now with the Seahawks. Lawrence responded to Parsons, “Maybe if you spent less time tweeting and more time winning, I wouldn’t have left.”

A new deal can and likely will come quickly at some point this offseason between Parsons and the Cowboys. But the Cowboys would be wise to set expectations with Parsons before signing him to the largest non-quarterback contract in NFL history.

Other free agent takeaways

▪ Cornerbacks are getting paid after stagnant growth over the last few years. The Panthers’ Jaycee Horn reset the market by signing for $25 million per year over four years, and the Texans’ Derek Stingley then shattered that with a three-year extension at $30 million. But only seven cornerbacks average at least $20 million per year, compared with 19 wide receivers, 11 edge rushers, and 10 left tackles.

▪ One surprising contract: Edge rusher Haason Reddick getting a solid, $12 million fully guaranteed on a one-year deal from the Buccaneers. Reddick can make a maximum of $14 million with $2 million in per-game bonuses ($117,647 per game active).

This after Reddick, 30, was a total headache for the Jets, first with a holdout and then with just one sack in 10 games. But the Bucs need Reddick to beef up their pass rush.

▪ Former Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe seems to have a fan in coach Andy Reid. The Chiefs signed Zappe to their practice squad in August, two days after he was released by the Patriots, and kept him until October, when the Browns claimed Zappe for their active roster.

A free agent this offseason, Zappe signed with the Chiefs this past week to a one-year deal, even though they also signed Gardner Minshew. Zappe has a minimum $1.1 million salary but got $396,000 guaranteed, the equivalent of a practice squad salary. If Reid and the Chiefs like you, you must be doing something right.

▪ Color me surprised that left tackle Dan Moore got a stronger deal from the Titans than Ronnie Stanley did from the Ravens, even considering Moore is 4½ years younger. Moore allowed a league-high 12 sacks last season for the Steelers while Stanley allowed just two. But Moore’s four-year contract pays him $30 million in 2025 and $20 million in 2026, while Stanley comes in at $44 million (a flat $22 million per season).

“I knew I was going to give Baltimore the best bargain that I would offer to any other team,” said Stanley, entering his 10th NFL season, all with the Ravens.

Fully guaranteed?

One contract term cropping up in a couple dozen free agent contracts this year is “fully guaranteed” workout bonuses and per-game roster bonuses. Hopefully the agents explain to the players that the amounts aren’t truly guaranteed, however.

For example, Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw has a “fully guaranteed” roster bonus of $1.53 million in 2025, or $90,000 per game active. Except that money is only guaranteed if Greenlaw is released. If Greenlaw is on the roster, he needs to be active on game day to collect the $90,00 bonus. Same goes for the $100,000 offseason workout bonus for new Panthers DE Patrick Jones. He still needs to show up for voluntary workouts to collect.

Browns stadium

It’s hard not to feel a smidgen of sympathy for Browns owner Jimmy Haslam as he attempts to get his team a new domed stadium and retail development in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park. In the latest project revealed this past week, Haslam is pledging $2 billion of private capital and asking for about $1.2 billion in public funds for a stadium that would open in 2029.

But Haslam is constrained by the “Art Modell Law,” which was passed after the original Browns left for Baltimore and erects several roadblocks to stop the Browns from ever leaving the city limits.

Haslam is fighting the legality of the law in court, and pointed out in a letter to fans last week that he’s just trying to move the team “less than a mile from Cleveland city limits,” right next to the Cleveland airport. Haslam has a point — 10 of 32 NFL teams play in the suburbs. No one seems to care that the 49ers play about an hour south of San Francisco, or the Bills play in Orchard Park, N.Y., or that the Jets and Giants play in New Jersey.

But Haslam knew, or should have known, what he was getting into when he bought the Browns in 2012. The city and fan base are sensitive about an NFL team cutting its stadium lease and heading elsewhere, even if it’s just to the ‘burbs. And Cleveland officials seem to want to keep the Browns downtown, where they have played for decades.

Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the Haslam project presents “a tidal wave of concerns.”

“My summary of their proposal in our analysis is that this is a risky bet with public dollars,” Ronayne said.

Earning their money

The Patriots shelled out big money this offseason, but they also are big believers in making their players earn some of it by staying healthy. Only 11 players leaguewide this offseason have agreed to contracts with per-game roster bonuses of at least $1 million (led by Tee Higgins and Haason Reddick at $2 million), and the Patriots have four of them.

New defensive tackle Milton Williams has $1.7 million in per-game bonuses in 2025-26 ($100,000 per game active), which increases to $2.55 million in 2027-28. New cornerback Carlton Davis and pass rusher Harold Landry have bonuses for $1.275 million ($75,000 per game), and linebacker Robert Spillane is at $1.02 million ($60,000 per game). Receiver Mack Hollins, right tackle Morgan Moses, and tight end Austin Hooper are at $850,000 ($50,000 per game).

There are two ways to look at this. One is that the per-game bonuses are a nice, little boost in total compensation — you have to be good enough just to get a per-game bonus, after all. Or they are a way for the Patriots to save money on injured players, and/or apply a little “financial motivation” to get guys to play through injuries.

Netflix scored a solid trio of QBs for the second season of “Quarterbacks,” to be released in July. It got Kirk Cousins again, who not only was the most revealing and interesting quarterback in the first season, but had a fascinating 2024 season with the Falcons, which included his return from a torn Achilles’ and getting benched for rookie Michael Penix. Also involved are the Bengals’ Joe Burrow, who was dealing with contract drama with his wide receivers and an inconsistent team that missed the playoffs; and the Lions’ Jared Goff, who quarterbacked the NFL’s most exciting team in 2025 but fell short in the playoffs. But the success of the show will be directly tied to how much access the quarterbacks give … The Titans have a new, $2 billion domed Nissan Stadium coming in 2027, and Tennessee’s governor, Bill Lee, officially wrote to Roger Goodell requesting Nashville get the 2029 Super Bowl (2028 season). The next three games are spoken for: San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. … Texans general manager Nick Caserio does not mess around when he perceives a problem. C.J. Stroud’s 52 sacks last season were second-most in the NFL, so the Texans sacked offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, offensive line coach Chris Strausser, left tackle Laremy Tunsil, left guard Kenyon Green, and right guard Shaq Mason. Replacing them are Nick Caley, Cole Popovich, Cam Robinson, Laken Tomlinson, and Ed Ingram … Perhaps I should have included the Lions’ proposal to eliminate the automatic first down for defensive holding in the “self-serving” category in Thursday’s column. The Lions tied for the league lead with 14 defensive holding penalties in 2024 … Former Broncos linebacker Alexander Johnson missed all of last season with a torn Achilles’, and has an interesting way of showing teams he’s healthy again: He won his first professional Mixed Martial Arts fight this month in Knoxville, Tenn. “Competing in MMA was a way to push myself, but my heart is still in football,” Johnson said. “I’ve never stopped grinding. I’m stronger, faster, and more locked in than ever.”