The Cincinnati Bengals broke from tradition this offseason by handing out massive extensions to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Known as one of the more frugal franchises in the NFL, the Bengals are going all-in on their core trio: Joe Burrow, Chase and Higgins.
That’s big news for Cincinnati fans, but not everyone is impressed. One longtime Bengals analyst argues the team’s mismanagement of the salary cap may have cost them a chance to build a more complete roster.
Bengals Analyst Calls Out Front Office Mistakes
Joe Goodberry, a veteran Bengals analyst with a strong following on social media, runs “Bengals On The Brain.”
He recently shared a spreadsheet of recent wide receiver contracts, then called out the Cincinnati front office in a detailed video.
The Cap Hits for Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are in and they are exactly what we feared. pic.twitter.com/s4jQkkIC8k
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) March 22, 2025
“So all offseason I’ve been saying the Bengals will save money once they extend Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase,” Goodberry said. “It was logical, because if you look around the league and look at previous wide receiver deals … every team reduces the cap hit. Every team creates cap space with their extensions. The Bengals have a habit of making the year-one cap hit much larger than it needs to be … They do this pretty routinely.”
He added, “It’s a concern because it makes it hard to build your roster. It makes it hard to squeeze and push the cap as far as possible to give you as much depth as possible.”
Goodberry broke down a chart showing the 14 highest average annual value (AAV) receiver contracts in recent years. Chase ranks No. 1 at $40.3 million, and Higgins is No. 10 at $28.75 million. When it comes to year-one cap hits, Higgins ($24.1 million) and Chase ($23.6 million) rank No. 1 and No. 2 — far higher than anyone else on the list.
He divided the year-one cap hits by AAV and showed how other teams lower those early costs to build depth. “Let’s highlight Tee Higgins. Oh! 83% is the highest year-one cap hit of any recent receiver that has been signed and extended. That’s disgusting work,” Goodberry said.
“Ja’Marr Chase … hitting nearly 59%. This stinks. This is not the moves of a team that is trying to do everything they can to win the Super Bowl,” he added. “If anybody says because the Bengals have low dead cap hits that they really use the cap correctly, they really do a good job … Actually, I think they might be the worst cap management team in the entire league. Worse than the Saints.”
Goodberry didn’t stop there: “The Bengals overstuffing and overinflating their year-one hits makes it harder for them to sign other players. It allows them to keep their cash spent low, and it’s going to keep them from competing for championships.”
He followed up with another tweet, showing how simple adjustments could’ve freed up cap space.
The Bengals are wasting 4.1% of the 2025 cap with how they structured the two WRs deals.
That may not seem like a ton, but they could've spread that $11.75M over the next 4-5 years.
Let's say $2.94M per year for 4 years.
That equates to:
2026 – that's 0.9% of the cap
2027 -…— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) March 22, 2025
“The Bengals are wasting 4.1% of the 2025 cap with how they structured the two WRs’ deals. That may not seem like a ton, but they could’ve spread that $11.75M over the next 4-5 years. Let’s say $2.94M per year for 4 years. That equates to:
2026 – that’s 0.9% of the cap
2027 – that’s 0.9% of the cap
2028 – that’s 0.8% of the cap
2029 – that’s 0.7% of the cap
“That’s a total of 3.3% of the future cap (projected) vs 4.1% in today’s cap. IT’S JUST MATH and they are WASTING CAP SPACE.”
Goodberry isn’t alone in his concerns. Jake Liscow, host of the “Locked On Bengals” podcast, posted a tweet thread showing similar frustrations.
It has been a March of extreme cap conservatism from the Bengals, punctuated by choices on Tee & Chase contracts. Most other teams would have significantly smaller year 1 cap hits (PHI, BAL, KC, BUF are all examples) and would be able to fit another moderate veteran contract or…
— Jake Liscow (@JakeLiscow) March 22, 2025
Liscow pointed out that large year-one cap hits are nothing new in Cincinnati. He included a list of recent contracts and the percentage of AAV consumed by the first-year cap hit:
- Tee Higgins – 83.5% (could have been 70% with a simple proration)
- Ja’Marr Chase – 58.55% (could have been 38.6%)
- BJ Hill – 78.4%
- Mike Gesicki – 90%
- Tedarrell Slaton – 77%
This trend could affect future signings. With so much cap space eaten up by new deals, it’s unlikely the Bengals will be able to pay All-Pro Trey Hendrickson what he’s worth—even though he’s said he wants to stay in Cincinnati.
Robert Mays, host of “The Athletic Football Show,” also weighed in.
The margin for error just shrinks when you're not willing to pull levers that other teams are. Even the standard ones. Every mistake or misstep in the draft or FA is gonna matter more, and that's tough because no matter what, every team is going to have those missteps.
— Robert Mays (@robertmays) March 22, 2025
“In a league with a lot of comparable talent, winning on the margins is crucial,” Mays wrote. “Leveraging small advantages can go a long way. If you’re not trying to find and use those edges, it’s gonna be hard to keep up, even if you have a few very good players.”
He followed that with another tweet: “The margin for error just shrinks when you’re not willing to pull levers that other teams are. Even the standard ones. Every mistake or misstep in the draft or free agency is gonna matter more, and that’s tough because no matter what, every team is going to have those missteps.”
It’s a rough look for a franchise long known for being hesitant with big-money deals. Now that they’ve finally paid their stars, the question is whether they’ve done it in a way that actually helps them win.
Goodberry ended the day with a tweet showing the Bengals have five of the top 54 cap hits for new contracts in 2025.
Highest 2025 cap hits for new contracts pic.twitter.com/225yhZvQ9a
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) March 23, 2025
He pointed out that Chase and Higgins rank fifth and sixth on that list. The pressure is now on Burrow and his top two receivers to carry the team. Cincinnati finally paid its stars — but at what cost to the rest of the roster?