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CINCINNATI Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase has admitted he's a "little salty" about a recent development.
The 24-year-old three-time Pro Bowler has gone viral after refusing to say the name of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Piece by piece, the NFL has been releasing its annual list of the Top 100 players - as voted for by their peers.
As of Wednesday, the top 60 have yet to be revealed.
However, it seems Mahomes' spot at the top has seemingly been leaked in advance by the NFL via X.
In a clip featuring an interview with Chase, he was asked to name the player in the top spot.
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"I'm not saying him. I give credit when it's due but I'm not saying his name," Chase stubbornly said.
Despite being pressed on the matter, Chase remained firm on the matter.
After reiterating that he wouldn't say Mahomes' name, he instead said that of his Bengals quarterback, Joe Burrow, before returning to deny the interviewer's request.
"I'm not that guy's name. He's good. He's amazing. He's good. Not gonna lie," Chase admitted.
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"I'm salty though. I'm a little salty. Two years in a row. But I'm putting Burrow first."
Mahomes held the top spot on both the NFL's 2021 and 2023 lists, with Tom Brady taking the bragging rights in between following his final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Chase's defiant resistance was met with praise from fans on X.
"I love this! You know he has all the respect in the world for him, but he's got that [Michael] Jordan level of [competitiveness] in him," one wrote.
"This is the kind of generational hatred I like to see," jokes a second.
"We need more of this," replied another.
While a fourth commented, "Mahomes in his head rent-free."
Chase's beef with Mahomes is understandable.
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Not only has he beaten Burrow to the top spot in the ranking, but Mahomes also led the Chiefs to a win against Cincinnati in the 2022 Conference Championship - the Bengals' most recent trip to the Playoffs.
Thankfully for Chase and Co. they'll have the chance to take on Kansas City once again in Week 2 of the upcoming season.
But before then, both Chase and the Bengals will be hoping they can come to an agreement on a new contract for the former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Chase is set to enter the fourth year of his rookie contract, with the team already having triggered his fifth-year deal.
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"We are going to bend over backward to make it happen," team owner Mike Brown told Cincinnati NBC affiliate WLWT of signing Chase to a new deal.
"I can't tell you when it's going to get done."