As the Bengals prepare for Sunday’s Divisional Round matchup against the Buffalo Bills, team president Mike Brown said he wants star quarterback Joe Burrow in Cincinnati for the long haul but knows it will come at a cost.
“He’s going to have a long career,” said Brown. “We certainly want it to be here. I think his window will extend over his whole career. But there is the fact that when you don’t have to pay the quarterback some extraordinary amount, that leaves room to pay other players more and, therefore, you can keep more players that are good players.”
Burrow, eligible for a contract extension this offseason, has one year remaining on his rookie deal, including a fifth-year option.
The 26-year-old is currently making $9 million annually, a number that will rise substantially given his performance thus far.
Across 42 career NFL regular season starts, Burrow has posted a 24-17-1 record with 82 touchdowns and 31 interceptions while completing 68.2% of his passes. The former LSU standout has also led the Bengals to two straight playoff berths, including an appearance in last year’s Super Bowl, where they fell to the LA Rams 23-20.
“Hopefully, a lot of our guys are around for a lot of my career as they can be,” said Burrow. “I have a lot of confidence in the front office doing their jobs this offseason.”
FanDuel Sportsbook currently has the Bengals as +4.5 road underdogs on the spread and +190 on the moneyline.