Diving into Joe Burrow's record extension with the Bengals

Burrow’s five-year, $275M extension gives him the title of the NFL’s highest-paid player in terms of annual compensation (one which has changed hands four times in 2023). 

The pact is notable not only with respect to its $55M AAV and the $219.01M in total guarantees, but also the up front commitment made by the Bengals in a move which bucks the organization’s norms regarding major contracts.

Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Burrow will see roster and training camp bonuses totaling just over $44.5M in 2023, along with a league minimum base salary. In 2024, he will receive a combined total of $65.7M between salary and an option bonus; that total sits at $35.25M for 2025. All of the 26-year-old’s compensation over the next three years is fully guaranteed at signing.

That makes Burrow’s pact a much more lucrative one in terms of early cash flow ($146.5M across 2023-25) compared to Justin Herbert‘s Chargers extension, as noted by Over the Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald. It also marks a break from tradition in terms of standard practice for the Bengals, who have typically avoided including injury guarantees beyond Year 1 of an extension. 

Making an exception to that rule was always going to be necessary given the market for QBs on their second contracts, but this structure is certainly noteworthy.

Burrow’s pact — which runs through 2029 — also includes rolling guarantees which cover much of his compensation in 2026 and ’27. Incentives for victories in the AFC title game and Super Bowl are also present through the final five years of the pact, meaning he will be well-positioned for years to come provided he can remain healthy and play at the level he has demonstrated in previous campaigns (which differs greatly from his performance during his first game after signing the mega-pact).

Questions will be raised about how many core contributors the Bengals can retain with Burrow now on the books at a massive raise. 

Wideout Tee Higgins is among the players who seems destined to at least test the open market before potentially departing in free agency, but the team has cost certainty with its most important player for the foreseeable future.