Bengals TE Mike Gesicki Acknowledges Money’s On His Mind After Contract Year

Bengals TE Mike Gesicki just finished out a one-year deal with Cincinnati and told the Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. it went exactly how he drew it up in his mind after a few challenging years under other coaching staffs. 

Now Gesicki’s poised to hit free agency again and he admitted he’s torn between the chance to make up for lost value on the open market, or likely turning down money to stay in a great situation in Cincinnati. 

“I came off a career year, got franchise tagged, so wasn’t able to hit the market then. Went to New England, wasn’t utilized nearly as much as I anticipated, so my market was super low,” Gesicki said. “Not that the only thing on my mind is making up money, but it’s definitely a thought process in my mind. You have to take a lot of things into account.

“This place is awesome, they welcome you with open arms and I’m super grateful for it. No matter what happens, I’ll always remember this year as a lot of fun and a lot of relationships I’ve made that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my career and the rest of my life.” 

The veteran tight end added it meant a lot to him to hear QB Joe Burrow stumping for the team to bring him back in 2025. 

Gesicki, 29, is a former second-round pick by the Dolphins in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Penn State. He finished the final year of his four-year, $6,611,924 rookie contract that included a $2,888,962 signing bonus and was franchise tagged by Miami.

He earned $10.9 million fully guaranteed in 2022 under the franchise tag.

Gesicki was testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent in 2023 when he signed a one-year deal with the Patriots worth up to $9 million. After playing out that deal, he signed another one-year contract worth $3.5 million with the Bengals in 2024. 

In 2023, Gesicki appeared in all 17 games for the Bengals and recorded 65 receptions on 83 targets for 665 yards and two touchdowns.