5 biggest winners of the NFL's salary cap inflation

4) The Bengals can make sure their elite wide receiver duo stays in town for a long time

The Cincinnati Bengals are a rare example of a legitimate Super Bowl contender that happens to have a ton of cap space. The Bengals have the eighth-most cap space as of now according to Spotrac at over $52 million with the Lions and Texans being the only teams ahead of them who finished above .500 this past season.

This past season did not go the way Cincinnati envisioned as Joe Burrow was banged up all year and was limited to just ten games, but there's no doubt that when this team is fully healthy they're a force.

A big part of what makes them such a dangerous team is their elite wide receiver duo of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Those receivers are two of the best in the game individually, so having them on the same team with an elite quarterback tossing them the ball makes their offense incredibly hard to stop when they're clicking.

While Chase and Higgins were on their rookie deals when Cincinnati made their run to the Super Bowl, they're approaching the time where they need to be paid handsomely to remain in town. Chase has already established himself as one of the best receivers in the NFL and can be extended. This cap increase gives Cincinnati the ability to do just that.

Despite an injury-riddled 2023 campaign, Higgins has proven he can at the very least be an elite WR2 if not a solid low-end WR1. The Bengals have made it clear that they plan to keep him around with the franchise tag, but perhaps more money to work with gives the Bengals the wiggle room necessary to extend Higgins long-term as well while also allowing them to tackle other needs around the roster to build the best roster possible to win now.