Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins wants his future contract and free agency situation solved “very soon.”
Meaning, the Bengals are on the clock and don’t have long to figure out if they will make good on Joe Burrow’s desire to keep Higgins in town.
According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, Higgins’ next contract could come in somewhere near the likes of other big names — but not necessarily at the very top of the market:
There are some past injury concerns — Higgins has missed five games each of the past two years — that could keep the number under the very top end of the market, but he should do better than the guys who got extensions with years left on their deals last offseason. Some of the people I spoke to believe he could get a little more per year than Jaylen Waddle’s $28.25 million average and a little more guaranteed than DeVonta Smith’s $69.998 million.
Over the years, this has been the problem with trying to project Higgins’ inevitable big second contract. He’s unquestionably a top target in the NFL, but soft-tissue injuries have plagued him since his college days. He’s only suited up in 12 games in each of the last two seasons.
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Higgins getting around the $28 million per year mark would rank him within the top 10 among wideouts, at least for this offseason. But it would still place him below the likes of Tyreek Hill and Justin Jefferson. The latter’s $35 million average annual value will be something Ja’Marr Chase leapfrogs soon.
This outlook is something the Bengals could capitalize on, though. Prior reports have suggested Higgins isn’t eager to go be a No. 1 on another team. And he switched agents, somewhat hinting he’s willing to go about negotiations differently than last year, which led to a franchise tag.
A second franchise tag would cost the Bengals a hair over $26 million in 2025. If his AAV on a contract extension lands near there and prevents a bidding war on the open market, though, the Bengals could look to get it done with Higgins sooner rather than later.
