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It doesn’t sound like the Cincinnati Bengals and star safety Jessie Bates will come to an agreement on an extension before the upcoming July 15 deadline.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, there isn’t much in the way of hope that the two sides will be able to close the gap between the franchise tag and the current top of the safety market.
Under the tag, Bates would earn $12.9 million this year, which is 10th at the position in average annual value (AAV). The top of the market is Minkah Fitzpatrick at $18.4 million AAV with Jamal Adams right behind at $17.6 million AAV.
As we’ve written in the past, this isn’t too concerning or shocking just yet. Given the current collective bargaining agreement, there’s minimal chance Bates holds out into the season. Both he and the Bengals have publicly expressed interest in sticking together for the long-term and Joe Burrow has even gone to bat for him.
Elsewhere on the franchise-tag front, there isn’t a lot of optimism the #Bengals and Jessie Bates will bridge the gap between the tag ($12.9m) and the top of the safety market ($18m+) between now and next week’s deadline. https://t.co/6HNznW6ASg
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 9, 2022
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