Joe Mixon sends 3-word message to Ja'Marr Chase after Bengals WR's historic $161,000,000 contract extension

On Monday, Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon congratulated his former teammate, Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, after becoming the highest-paid non-QB in the National Football League, per NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero on Monday.

Chase and fellow WR Tee Higgins both signed major long-term extensions with the Bengals.

Chase signed a four-year $161 million contract with an average annual value of $40.25 million.

"BREAKING: Bengals and WR Ja’Marr Chase agree to four-year, $161M deal. (via @tompelissero)" 📷: @cooperneill/NFL," NFL Network captioned.

In response to the post, Mixon shared his love and appreciation for his good friend and congratulated him on his contract extension.

Joe Mixon Instagram Comment (image credit: instagram/nflnetwork)

Mixon and Chase have remained close friends despite no longer playing for the same team. Before the start of last season, Mixon was traded by Cincinnati to Houston for a late-round draft pick.

What does Ja'Marr Chase's contract extension mean for the Bengals?

The contract extension keeps one of the best WRs in the entire league with the Cincinnati long-term. The move also ensures the future of star quarterback Joe Burrow, who had been pushing for the franchise to extend Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins this offseason. While nothing was officially confirmed, some analysts questioned whether Burrow would remain with the team if the two elite receivers were not signed long-term.

However, with the news of the signings, this belief will likely fade into the background of NFL discussions. Burrow, Chase and Higgins are arguably the best QB-WR-WR trio in the league when healthy and have shown consistently throughout their respective careers that they are better when the other two are playing on the Bengals offense.

Last season, when they were all healthy for the majority of the year, Burrow led the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns, Chase won the WR triple crown (receptions, receiving yards, receiving TDs) and Higgins tied for sixth in the league in receiving TDs.

Cincinnati had the most passing yards per game in the league last year, averaging 272.9 per matchup. With the signing of Chase and Higgins, the Bengals will be hoping that their star trio will continue performing well individually next season and lead the franchise back to the playoffs.