Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said he and the team are in discussions on a long-term contract extension, and he sounded confident Tuesday about the progress of the negotiations.
Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, is entering the final season of his four-year rookie deal, and the team has picked up his fifth-year option for $29.5 million in 2024. He’s in line for a contract extension along the lines of ones recently signed by Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts (five years, $255 million) or Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson (five years, $260 million).
The 26-year-old said he personally is part of the negotiations but didn’t want to divulge any specifics.
“I’m involved. That’s in the works,” Burrow told reporters in a news conference on Tuesday. “That’s not really something that I like to play out in the media. Just the way I think they want to do business, I want to do business, we prefer to keep that between us.”
He said the team is aware of what he desires.
“I’m pretty clear on what I want in the contract and what I think is best for myself and the team,” Burrow said. “So, we’re on the road to making that happen.”
Despite the huge extension he likely will secure, Burrow said he doesn’t want to sap up all the cap space for himself.
“It’s definitely — whenever you have guys on the team that need to be paid, that’s always on your mind,” Burrow said. “You want that to be a focal point. So, we’re working to make that happen.”
He added: “You’ve got to have good players. It doesn’t matter how good your quarterback is. If you don’t have good players around him, you’re not going to be a very good team.”
Burrow has led the Bengals to back-to-back AFC Championship games and to the Super Bowl after the 2021 season. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2022 after throwing for 4,475 yards with 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
In 42 career games, Burrow has a 24-17-1 record as a starter. He’s completed 68.2 percent of his passes for 11,774 yards with 82 touchdowns and 31 interceptions.
–Field Levlve Media