Cincinnati Bengals, Joe Burrow agree to $275 million contract

Cincinnati Bengals QB and former LSU Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow came to turns on a contract that will make Burrow the highest-paid player in the NFL, according to Ian Rapoport. The contract extension comes in the form of a five-year, $275-million deal.

The deal, which has $219.01 million guaranteed, came out right around when Kansas City and Detroit kicked off the 2023 season Thursday night.

“Cincy has known it would get done before kickoff on Sunday, only waiting to get the final official yes from Joe Burrow,” Rapoport tweeted. “Now, the new highest paid QB can move on with all eyes on the field.”

The No. 7 dual-threat quarterback and No. 210 overall player in the 2015 class, Burrow signed with the in-state Ohio State Buckeyes out of The Plains (Ohio) Athens High School.

Burrow redshirted his first season at Ohio State, then attempted a combined 39 passes over the next two years as a backup. He entered his junior season in competition for the Buckeyes’ starting job, but after falling behind Dwayne Haskins, Burrow elected to transfer.

He found a home at LSU, where he proved his toughness as a junior, throwing for 2,894 yards and 16 touchdowns with five interceptions. But that was just scratching the surface. With LSU bringing in Joe Brady to help run the offense and with Burrow throwing to one of college football’s best-ever wide receiver trios in Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and Terrace Marshall Jr., the Tigers and Burrow hit another level.

The result was a 15-0 record and a national championship, with Burrow shattering records while completing 76.3% of his passes for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns with just six interceptions. For his efforts, Burrow received the Heisman Trophy and went with the No. 1 overall pick to the Bengals.

It didn’t take long for him to make his impact felt as he quickly won the starting job — the only rookie quarterback from his class to start opening week — and while the Bengals went 2-7-1 in his 10 starts before he was lost for the season to a knee injury, Burrow completed 65.3% of his passes for 2,688 yards and 13 touchdowns with five interceptions.

He followed that up with a healthy season where he turned the Bengals’ recent lack of success around, pushing Cincinnati to its first Super Bowl since 1988. Burrow threw for 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns, then played well in the playoffs as the Bengals came up just shy in the finale.

Cincinnati made it back to the AFC Championship Game last season before falling late to the Kansas City Chiefs, with Burrow throwing for 4,475 yards and 35 touchdowns on the season, reaching his first Pro Bowl.

Burrow entered this season in the last year of his rookie deal, a four-year contract worth more than $36 million.