The Joe Burrow contract is coming. Nobody can say for certain when, and as Burrow pointed out Tuesday, that’s by design. But a feeling of inevitability has long hovered over the two sides as they work through the process this offseason.

Trying to understand the nuances of guarantees, structure, cash flow and cap hits can be nauseating. And for the average fan, just hearing news Burrow will be their quarterback for the foreseeable future will be all that matters.

Without jumping into the extreme weeds, here are the numbers that should matter most whenever the Burrow contract is done, according to those who understand this world as well as anyone.

Call this “The Joe Burrow Contract For Dummies” handbook on what to care about when the time comes.

Years

Keep it simple: How long is Burrow signing up to play for the Bengals? This isn’t just a matter of extending the Super Bowl window, but rather, a significant sign of concessions made either by the team or player.

“The more years are always going to be better for the Bengals and obviously the player reps want fewer years,” said Brad Spielberger, salary cap analyst for Pro Football Focus, previously of Over The Cap. “That’s going to be the most fascinating part of it.”

When looking at the most unique quarterback contract in recent memory in terms of team-friendly structure, look no further than Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

His deal served as an extreme outlier when he signed a 10-year extension for $450 million in 2020. The length of the contract allowed the Chiefs to use roster bonuses and an important lever of rolling guarantees to pick and choose what years they wanted to take the largest chunks out of paying down his total contract. If there was a year they could take on a larger cap hit due to the structure of the roster, they would do it.