Already this week at the Pro Bowl, NFL rumors suggested the upcoming market value for Cincinnati Bengals free agent Tee Higgins.
The numbers weren’t shocking by any means and left those doing the reporting with plenty of outs. Higgins could make roughly $28 million per year in average annual value (AAV), a top-10 mark for wideouts — but it could go well over $30 million AAV if a bidding war starts.
Now, another report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has echoed the same, but from the Senior Bowl:
The over/under on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins’ market is $30 million per season, and the majority of team personnel that I spoke with believe he’ll hit or clear the over. The lowest estimate I heard was somewhere slightly above DeVonta Smith’s three-year, $75 million deal. The rest saw him breaking into the $30 million range, based on his status as a No. 1-caliber receiver and the number of teams desperate for pass-catching help.
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One thing to keep in mind — a second franchise tag would only cost the Bengals roughly $26 million.
Granted, it’s probably in Cincinnati’s best interests to just get a multi-year agreement done. It would ease the actual cap hits and do right by Higgins at the same time.
Reports have suggested Higgins isn’t looking to go be a No. 1 elsewhere. He’s changed agents and Joe Burrow keeps putting pressure on the front office publicly about this.
While the Bengals might have some reservations about Higgins’ history of injuries, pushing past those to give him a deal in the franchise-tag range might just be enough to keep him from the open market and those $30 million projections.
