Joe Burrow has officially agreed in principle to his contract with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Burrow, the first pick in the 2020 NFL draft, ushers in a new era for Bengals football and will start from Day 1. He does so while staring down a unique set of challenges, including a preseason-less summer and rules and mandates that prevented him from reporting to Paul Brown Stadium until July 21.
The biggest non-football hurdle is out of the way for the Bengals and Burrow. Citing contract structures like ones belonging to Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, the organization had made it clear it wasn’t worried about dishing out Burrow’s mega-contract that makes him the highest-paid player in the 2020 class.
Burrow’s contract checks in at roughly $36 million over four seasons with a fifth-year option, giving him roughly $23.88 million at signing. He’s a big cap hit for a Bengals team that had roughly $24 million in wiggle room before signing its rookie class.
