The Bengals’ next round of contract decisions just got a lot more complicated.
On Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Atlanta Falcons reached a new deal with Bijan Robinson that reset the running back market in a major way. That kind of money doesn’t just change one roster - it ripples across the league, and for Cincinnati it adds another layer to the Chase Brown question.
“Two-time Pro-Bowl selection Bijan Robinson and the Falcons reached agreement on a three-year extension worth up to $75 million that now will make him the highest-paid running back in NFL history,” Schefter posted on X. “Robinson will receive a record $51 million guaranteed, including $37 million at signing, in a deal that agent Nicole Lynn and the Falcons have been working hard on to finish up in recent days.”
Robinson’s new contract blows past Saquon Barkley’s old benchmark of $20.6 million per season. According to Spotrac, the deal also puts Robinson on pace to make $15 million more in guaranteed money than Barkley, and he becomes the first running back in league history to average more than $21 million per year on a new contract.
That matters for everyone in the running back market, with Jonathan Taylor and Jahmyr Gibbs among the names that could feel the effects. The latter is expected to top this deal before the season starts.
For the Bengals, the timing isn’t ideal. Brown’s extension talks have been quiet, just like the situations with Dax Hill and DJ Turner II. Cincinnati did restructure Joe Burrow’s contract for the first time this offseason, creating a little more room, and the team now sits with close to $17 million in salary cap space.
Even with that breathing room, the Bengals can’t pay everybody. Boundary cornerbacks like Hill and Turner carry real importance, which could make Brown the odd man out despite how much he has produced.
Brown’s 2024 season made that decision even tougher. The Illinois product finished 11th in the NFL in scrimmage yards with a team-high 1,456.
He ran for 1,019 yards and added 437 receiving yards, which ranked sixth among all running backs. He also drew 88 targets and became a major piece of Cincinnati’s offense.
That kind of production can push a player into a different financial tier fast, especially if he backs it up again. Brown doesn’t have the Pro Bowl or All-Pro résumé Robinson brings to the table, and right now he is not in the $20-million running back conversation. Still, that picture could change by the 2026 campaign.
Brown has made it clear he wants to stay.
“I would love to do something and be a part of this team,” Brown told ESPN’s Ben Baby in January. “I don't want to go anywhere else.
I think if you look at the past, too, guys like Tee (Higgins) and Ja'Marr (Chase), they had to wait, and then they kept on getting better and got really expensive. You know what I mean?
So, I let my agent handle that, and I think they are working really hard and they've been in communication, and that's all I can really say right now.”
Brown is also set to get a raise this season, with his salary jumping to $3.6 million through the NFL’s Proven Performance Escalator after his strong 2025 season. Whether Cincinnati can turn that into a long-term deal is the bigger question now.
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