Bengals’ D.J. Reader, Trae Waynes land on Forbes’ highest-paid athletes list

Bengals’ fans are well aware that their team had a very un-Bengals-esque offseason. They went out and added several big name free agents, which brought along some unprecedented spending as a result.

This landed a couple of those players on a surprising list. Forbes put together a list of the top 100 highest paid athletes, and that list includes cornerback Trae Waynes (80) and D.J. Reader (94).

The NFL had a total of 31 representatives on the list, and not surprisingly the ones near the top are mostly quarterbacks who have gotten contracts over the past few season, which is led by Kirk Cousins who landed a completely guaranteed contract with the Vikings and most recently another extension.

Reader was made the highest paid interior lineman in the NFL this past offseason. His deal is a four-year contract that is worth up to $53 million. Waynes landed a lucrative three-year deal worth up to $42 million. Their presence on their list isn’t surprising as these two just got their payday on the open market.

It also won’t be surprising to see players like A.J. Green on this list soon enough. He is currently franchise tagged, but an extension will likely be reached before he is allowed to hit the open market next offseason.

We should also expect to see Joe Burrow’s name on this list eventually. By the time he gets to his fifth-year option he should be making quite a bit of money. Not to mention if he reaches expectations he could eventually be another quarterback who resets that lucrative market.