Getty Image / Gregory Shamus
The 2019 LSU Tigers were one of the best college football teams ever, if not the best. Their offense was simply unstoppable, and the defense was more than good enough.
Not only was the team legendary at the college level, but the star players from that team have gone on to do big things in the NFL. Ja’Marr Chase’s new contract is yet another reminder of just how good they were.
The 2019 LSU Tigers weren’t preseason favorites to win the national title by any stretch. But, they were, by far, the nation’s best team that year. They beat seven teams that were ranked in the top ten at the time of the game, and scored a ludicrous 726 points, good for a record at the time and over 48 points per game.
The insane offense was led by an incredible passing game with Joe Burrow under center. We all know that Burrow is now an all-time great pocket passer, and he’s been dominant with the Bengals. But, heading into that 2019 season, nobody considered him as anything near that level. But, he threw for an astounding 5,671 yards with a 76.3% completion percentage and 60 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in 15 games. Yes, that’s a real stat line for a team that also ran the ball a solid amount. It helped to have two future NFL superstar receivers in Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase, two players I’d argue are the best two wide receivers in the NFL right now.
In 2023, Burrow set a then-record setting contract in terms of average annual value at 5 years, $275 million. Last year, Justin Jefferson agred to a then-record setting contract of his own for a wide receiver, getting $140 million over 4 years from the Vikings.
This week, two more pllayers from that team, Houston Texans corner Derek Stingley Jr. and Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase also got huge extensions. Stingley got $90 million over three years to become the highest-paid corner ever and Chase got a 4-year, $161 million contract to become the highest-paid non-quarterback of all-time.
All of that is impressive in a vacuum. But, consider the fact that the over $660 million of guaranteed contracts from just four players came from the same team! The 2019 LSU team was truly dominant.