The Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Burrow officially agreed to a five-year, $275 million contract extension on Saturday, making the star quarterback the highest-paid player in the NFL.
The deal, which was first reported Thursday, will pay Burrow an average of $55 million a year and puts him ahead of other top quarterbacks in the league who signed new deals in the off-season.
“My father always said that in the NFL, the quarterback is like the key to your car,” Bengals president Mike Brown said in a statement. “You can have a great car, but you need a key to get the car going and to operate it at a high level. We feel that we have a good one in Joe.
“Our franchise has been fortunate to have many good quarterbacks over the years, starting with Greg Cook and now running through Joe. Half a dozen Pro Bowl quarterbacks have graced our corridors, and Joe is an intelligent player who loves the game of football. The franchise is pleased to be in good hands.”
Burrow strained a calf muscle early in training camp and was out of action until last week. He said Wednesday he’s on track to start against the Browns on Sunday.
The market for quarterbacks was set for Burrow in late July when Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert agreed to a five-year, $262.5 million extension.
Herbert’s total value and $52.5 million average per season surpassed the $260 million, five-year extension ($52 million average) that Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson signed in April. Deshaun Watson agreed to a fully guaranteed $230 million deal with Cleveland in 2022.
Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes is in the third year of a 10-year contract worth $450 million, the largest overall deal for a quarterback.
Cincinnati picked up the fifth-year option on the 26-year-old Burrow’s rookie contract in April ahead of the expected megadeal, which wasn’t as quick to get done as both sides would have preferred.
Burrow has led the Bengals to two straight AFC North titles and a Super Bowl after the 2021 season, a 23-20 loss to the Rams.
Cincinnati finished 12-4 last year, with Burrow setting franchise single-season records for completions, pass attempts and passing touchdowns.
— With files from The Associated Press.
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