The Cincinnati Bengals Have Restructured Joe Burrow's Contract

Joe Burrow reportedly worked with the Cincinnati Bengals to restructure his contract before the 2026 season.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Bengals cleared $10 million in cap space by reworking Burrow's deal. The star quarterback is entering the second season of a five-year, $275 million extension signed at the start of the 2023 season.

Reworked contracts are common, particularly for highly paid franchise quarterbacks. However, The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. noted that this is the first time the Bengals have restructured Burrow's current deal.

Per Schefter and Rapoport, the Bengals needed cash after acquiring Dexter Lawrence from the New York Giants. The star defensive tackle carries a $15.3 million cap hit in 2026.

Before restructuring his contract, Burrow was set to receive a $25.25 million base salary with a $48 million cap hit. Matthew Stafford is the only player with a higher cap number this season (48.3 million).

2026 outlook for Joe Burrow, Bengals

Burrow and Bengals will embark on a pivotal season after falling short of the postseason three straight times.

A turf toe injury limited Burrow to just eight games last season. They went 1-8 without the three-time Pro Bowler despite acquiring Joe Flacco as a midseason replacement.

With or without Burrow, a lackluster defense has kept the Bengals out of contention in recent years. They'll hope Lawrence can fix a reeling unit that relinquished an NFL-worst 147.1 rushing yards per game last season.

While Cincinnati lost star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson to the Baltimore Ravens, they signed edge rusher Boye Mafe and safety Bryan Jones to big offseason deals. That's despite locking up Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to preserve one of the league's finest receiving duos.

Burrow will look to remind everyone that he's a top-shelf quarterback and steer Cincinnati back to title contention. The restructured contract helped the AFC North squad balance the ledger after adding Lawrence, a three-time Pro Bowler who could prove paramount to those efforts.

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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 3:59 PM.