Pro Football Hall of Famer expects Bengals to 'throw away' their business model ahead of 2025 campaign

Before the 2023 season, the Cincinnati Bengals made Joe Burrow the highest-paid player in NFL history, signing him to a five-year $275 million contract.

This offseason, the Bengals will try to extend Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Chase will enter next season in the final year of his contract while Higgins is set to become a free agent.

NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter thinks Cincinnati should get rid of its business motto of not guaranteeing money in the second year of an extension as it looks to keep Chase and Higgins.

"Cincinnati trying to do things they've never done before," Carter said on Wednesday, via the 'Up & Adams' show. "They don't guarantee money in the second year. Joe Burrow says he's the only player. So you have to throw away that model. Because you can't sign Chase and you can't sign Higgins without guaranteeing money into the second year. So, their business model, they're going to have to tear it up."

It's rare to see Cincinnati make a player the highest-paid in the league or sign players to massive contracts. With the time ticking on Chase and Higgins, they may have to break the mold and bring out the wallet for the duo.

The team franchise tagged Higgins last offseason and plans to do so again, which will pay him the average salary of the top five wide receivers for next season.

Chase will likely be a top-three highest-paid WR by the time he gets an extension.

How much cap space do the Cincinatti Bengals have?

Cincinnati Bengals v Pittsburgh Steelers - Source: Getty

According to Over The Cap, the Cincinnati Bengals reportedly have just over $53 million in cap space, ranking ninth in the league. This comes before the NFL announced on Wednesday that the cap for next campaign will be in the range of $277.5 million to $281.5 million, which is a $20+ million increase from last season.

"The NFL today informed teams that the 2025 per-team salary cap will fall in the range of $277.5 million to $281.5 million, way up from last year's $255.4 million. Cap will have increased by more than $53 million over the last two years," ESPN's Dan Graziano tweeted.

With the increase in cap space, Cincinnati could have around $70 million and it should make things easier to resign Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson, who led the league in sacks in 2024 with 17.5.

It might be a different, unconventional offseason of negotiating for the Bengals, but if they want to retain their core players, they will have to prepare to pay huge amounts.