CINCINNATI — Ja’Marr Chase was still trying to grasp the levity of the moment.

Up until three weeks ago, the idea that he and fellow Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins were going to sign long-term extensions felt distant. Each star player had gone through their own set of difficult and embattled negotiations in previous years.

But things slowly started to turn their way. Quarterback Joe Burrow continued to campaign for them to receive new deals. The front office expressed support to pay both players.

That set the scene for Tuesday, when Chase and Higgins arrived in Cincinnati to finalize their new four-year contracts. Chase’s $161 million deal, which carries the highest average annual salary for a non-quarterback in league history, runs through 2029. Higgins’ deal, worth $115 million, runs through 2028.

“Signing us together, that’s the whole goal,” Chase said Tuesday at Paycor Stadium. “For us to push this team, push each other as far as we can go. The one goal is to be the best in the AFC first. That’s going to give us the shot to get to the Super Bowl. If we win that first, then we’re going to take the next step.”

It’s fitting that Chase and Higgins appeared at a joint news conference, having played alongside each other the past four seasons. The Bengals drafted Higgins in the second round in 2020, and Chase was the No. 5 pick in 2021.

Both have been part of the franchise’s turnaround and were instrumental in leading the Bengals to back-to-back AFC championships and a Super Bowl appearance in February 2022, where Cincinnati lost to the Los Angeles Rams. Chase is a four-time Pro Bowl selection who made the All-Pro team in 2024, while Higgins has amassed 4,595 receiving yards and 34 touchdowns in five seasons.

Given the market for both wide receivers and the constraints of the salary cap, it seemed unlikely the Bengals could afford to keep both of them.

But following a win against the Dallas Cowboys in December — during which Higgins, Chase and Burrow were captains for the pregame coin toss — Burrow expressed confidence the team could bring both receivers back.

Burrow, who was an MVP finalist in 2024 and is tied for the second-highest average annual salary among the league’s quarterbacks, continued to stump for Chase and Higgins during a Super Bowl week media tour in February.

Both Higgins and Chase cited Burrow’s support as a key factor that led to their new deals.

“A guy like him wanting guys like us to stick around and play with him for the next four years, I feel like it definitely helps,” Higgins said Tuesday.

Another significant development came toward the end of last season, when Higgins hired Rocky Arceneaux and Caitlin Aoki as his agents. They also represent Chase.

But that synergy didn’t mean a completely smooth process. On Feb. 26, the Bengals placed the franchise tag on Higgins for a second straight year, a development that left Higgins confused at the time.

There was also the matter of how much money Chase wanted on his new deal. The first negotiation between him and the Bengals led to him skipping all of training camp in 2024.

Chase said that in the weeks leading up his new deal, there was “a lot going on” surrounding his potential new salary. But on March 14, when defensive end Myles Garrett’s contract with the Cleveland Browns crossed the threshold of $40 million annually, it made it easier for Chase to sign his own deal four days later.

Throughout the entire process, Chase wanted to make sure significant progress was also being made on a deal between Higgins and the Bengals.

“I really was not trying to let Tee go for me,” Chase said. “I don’t know about Joe (Burrow), but it’s hard when you’re out there and Tee’s not out there. You know what I’m saying, not easy at all.”

They don’t have to worry about that any longer, having both flown into Cincinnati on Tuesday to make everything official.

It’s starting to hit me https://t.co/FctniV3kNe

– Ja’Marrchase (@Real10jayy__) March 18, 2025

Bengals coach Zac Taylor, with his sons Brooks and Luke seated in the back alongside head strength coach Joey Boese’s three sons, introduced his two receivers before their news conference.

Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said Higgins and Chase “earned their extensions” — and also included a callback to a statement made in 2023 at the scouting combine, in reference to the Bengals potentially dealing Higgins.

“We have our receivers,” Tobin said in a statement Tuesday. “The rest of the league can go find their own.”