The Cincinnati Bengals and Tee Higgins saga has finally come to an end. It has been a long time coming, but the two sides agreed to a deal that will make him the highest-paid secondary wide receiver in NFL history, according to Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz.
That may sound like quite the statement, but Higgins actually took a discount to stay in Cincinnati. There are still plenty of details about the contract unknown, but even based on what we know, it is clear both sides compromised to get this done.
The big thing is that Higgins could have easily gotten more than a four-year contract worth $115 million in the open market. He easily could have used DK Metcalf’s new $132 extension over four years as a basis for what Higgins himself should get (at the very least).
For Higgins not to even get that shows he left several million dollars per year on the table, at the very least.
Higgins instead took a deal that put him under even a $30 million APY. It is worth noting that Schultz said the deal includes incentives that could bump Higgins’ deal to $30 million annually, so it’s still possible he hits that mark, but it’s no done deal.
That is still WR1 money, so it’s not like he’ll be underpaid. It’s just not the amount he would have gotten on the open market.
That is also money you probably don’t end up on a team with Joe Burrow as the quarterback or with another receiver even close to Ja’Marr Chase’s talent to help open things up for yourself.
Higgins gets to stay in a GREAT situation, making a few million less than he probably would have gotten.
So, what did Higgins get to sweeten the deal? He got his first and second year of the contract fully guaranteed. That is something the Bengals avoid pretty much at all costs despite it being common practice around the league for a certain caliber of players.
That is a huge victory for Higgins as he gets some well-earned security after playing on the franchise tag last season. He would likely have faced the same fate this year (and maybe beyond).
Cincinnati must also be pretty happy to get Higgins locked in for four years rather than the three that have become the standard. That was another area Cincinnati really won the deal with, as many projected him to sign a three-year extension, something we’ve seen other big-name wideouts do in recent years. AJ Brown got a three-year extension worth $96 million from the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024.
Again, there are many details still to come that are important. We don’t know yet what his cap hits will look like, escalators, possible outs for the Bengals, etc.
Right now, it all points to Higgins wanting to be a Bengal with Burrow and Chase for the foreseeable future, even if that meant taking less than he probably could have received.
It was a great outcome for a guy who didn’t even hold out last year when he had every right to.
