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          Source: Bengals QB Joe Burrow agrees to $36.1M rookie contract

          • Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterJul 28, 2020, 05:12 PM
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              Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
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          Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow is on the verge of finalizing his first NFL deal.

          The recent No. 1 overall draft pick agreed to terms on Tuesday for a four-year contract worth $36.1 million, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. The contract is pending a physical that will occur later this week.

          Burrow is expected to receive the entirety of his $23.9 million signing bonus within 15 days of an executed contract. Burrow and second-round pick Tee Higgins are the lone Bengals who did not have deals signed as Cincinnati's veterans reported to the team facility on Tuesday.

          The Bengals selected Burrow with the top overall pick in April's draft after the Bengals finished with the league's worst record in 2019. Burrow won the Heisman Trophy and led LSU to a national championship.

          Even without a contract with the Bengals, Burrow has spent the offseason preparing to potentially be the Week 1 starting quarterback. In addition to participating in the team's virtual workouts, he conducted throwing drills near his childhood home in southeast Ohio. Recently, Burrow has been spotted working out in Cincinnati with new teammates Sam Hubbard, Drew Sample and Freedom Akinmoladun in anticipation of training camp.

          In his final season at LSU, Burrow set the Football Bowl Subdivision record for most passing touchdowns in a season. He finished the year with a 76.3 completion percentage, 5,671 passing yards, 60 touchdowns and six interceptions.