NFL Running Back Contract Market Increases For Chase Brown, Extension Candidates

The Bengals have some tough financial decisions to make with their 2022 and 2023 draft picks, which just got harder to figure out on Tuesday morning.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Atlanta Falcons inked Bijan Robinson to a new market-setting contract for the running back position.

Price Going Up

Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown (30) runs the ball during practice at the Paycor Stadium practice facility in downtown Cincinnati on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

A deal that could make it harder to keep Chase Brown in a Bengals uniform.

"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."

It's a massive new deal that should lift up negotiations for all running backs, including names like Jonathan Taylor and Jahmyr Gibbs. The latter is expected to top this deal before the season starts.

Robinson blasted through Saquon Barkley's old top deal of $20.6 million per season. According to Spotrac, Robinson is on track to make $15 million more in guaranteed money than Barkley on this new deal, and he becomes the first running back in league history to average $21 million-plus per season on a new deal.

As for Brown, things have been pretty quiet regarding his potential contract extension, same with Dax Hill and DJ Turner II's. Cincinnati restructured Joe Burrow's contract for the first time this offseason to get some more breathing room with close to $17 million in salary cap space now.

Still, the money isn't endless. Cincinnati may have to make some tough decisions on who to pay. Given the importance of boundary cornerbacks like Hill and Turner, that odd man out could be Brown, even with how productive he's been lately.

The Illinois product has blossomed in this offense. Brown ranked 11th in the NFL in scrimmage yards last year with a team-high 1,456. In addition to his 1,019 rushing yards, Brown was sixth among all running backs with 437 receiving yards, and he garnered a whopping 88 targets. He's a massive part of this offense that could play himself out of Cincinnati with another great season.

Brown doesn't have any firm accolades to match Robinson's Pro Bowl honors and All-Pro nod. Right now, he shouldn't be a $20-million RB trailing Robinson in Approximate Value 37-23. But that could tighten across the 2026 campaign.

The Bengals' bell cow wants to be in Cincinnati moving forward.

"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."

Chase is getting a nice pay bump this season to $3.6 million through the NFL's Proven Performance Escalator following that high-level 2025 season. Time will tell if Cincinnati can pay him that mega escalator on a new long-term deal for the rest of the decade.

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