Ja'Marr Chase Earned Millions More From With Bengals Thanks to Myles Garrett Contract

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase got some rare, unintended help from a division rival with his record-setting contract extension.

Just a week before Chase and the Bengals agreed to the extension that is set to pay Chase $40.25 million per year, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett agreed to his own record extension with the Browns that will pay him $40 million per year.

Prior to Garrett's deal, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin promised to make Chase the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. At the time, Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson held that honor as the highest-paid non-quarterback, making an average of $35 million per year.

When the Browns extended Garrett to a contract worth $40 million per year, $5 million more per season than Jefferson, Chase's contract reportedly rose several million more per year so that Tobin and the Bengals could follow through on their promise to Chase.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on his podcast that before Garrett's extension, the Bengals were working on an extension that would have paid Chase around $37-$38 million per year. Thanks to Garrett's deal, Chase is set to make over $2 million more than that initial figure per season.

During Chase's press conference with the Bengals on Tuesday, he even credited Garrett's deal for helping him receive a better one.

"Myles set the bar," Chase told reporters. "There was a lot going on at the time numbers wise. Myles really helped me."

Though Garrett's contract with the Browns inadvertently helped Chase, it's ultimately on the Bengals for declaring that they would make Chase the highest-paid non-quarterback. Even if they had said they'd simply make Chase the highest-paid receiver the organization potentially could have saved. Either way, Chase and his play are deserving of this record-breaking price, regardless if Garrett's deal helped him earn a little more than originally planned.