Justin Jefferson once played for the same college team as Ja’Marr Chase in LSU. He also once went through the exact same thing that Chase is going through right now, a contract negotiation.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport Ja’Marr wants to be the highest paid wide receiver in the game, and he wants to do it by one penny. He will then have the beat the record deal that Jefferson signed with the Vikings earlier in this off-season. That deal was a four year $140M contract that made him the highest paid receiver, a title that he still has today.

In a current NFL where the latest contract becomes the highest contract, when and if Chase signs his new deal, it likely will top the contract signed by Justin in Minnesota. When asked on the FanDuel show “Up and Adams” what he would text to Chase if he did sign a deal greater than his, he joked that he could not share that on-air, but he did say he would be happy for 7-11 (insinuating that like the popular convenient store, he is always open).

“It’s always love, especially on my end, about my brothers, that are making good in this league and making a name for themselves,” Jefferson added.

“We always talked about that in the receiving room at LSU, saying that we were able to be on that same platform as some of the top guys that were in the league while we were watching the film at LSU. So to see it all come up, come to life and for us to fulfill our dreams is definitely heartwarming.”

In the same interview, Jefferson did offer him a few words of advice as well, when asked if he knew exactly what Chase was feeling.

“I’m pretty confident that he’ll be about his business and show up when he needs to show up,”  Jefferson said . “I hope that he gets the contract that he’s looking for, but I also hope that he plays it smart and not let it get in the way of, you know, his greatness and being on that field.”

Chase had essentially been doing a “hold in.” Which is where the player is in camp, goes to the team meetings and so forth, but does not participate in team on-field drills. But, on Wednesday, Chase did participate in on-field drill for the first time.

Chase signed his four year rookie contract that was worth a total of $30.8 M. This year, the fourth year of his contract he will be making $9.8M. The Bengals also have the fifth-year option, on his rookie contract. If they choose to pick up that option, it will pay $21.8M for that fifth season.

Photo Credit; WCPO,