Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Bengals franchise WR Tee Higgins was initially looking for a similar contract to the three-year, $70 million deal the Colts gave WR Michael Pittman this offseason.
Pittman’s deal will pay him an annual average salary of $23 million.
According to Conway, the Bengals never approached the $20 million per year range for Higgins in their contract talks.
Conway says that due to the Bengals’ original offer, the two sides never advanced in contract talks.
Higgins later requested a trade out of Cincinnati. However, the team has maintained that they have no interest in trading him and expect him to remain with the team for the 2024 season.
Conway adds that Higgins never requested to become the highest-paid receiver in the NFL nor was he asking for a specific amount of guaranteed money in a long-term deal.
The Bengals will need to get a long-term deal done with fellow WR Ja’Marr Chase, but Conway mentions that he wants to wait and see what Justin Jefferson signs for first before broaching extension talks.
Higgins, 25, is a former second-round pick by the Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Clemson. He just finished the final year of a four-year, $8,686,785 rookie contract and made a base salary of $2,993,000 in 2023.
He was set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 when the Bengals placed the franchise tag on him, which will cost the team around $21.8 million fully guaranteed for the 2024 season.
In 2023, Higgins appeared in 12 games for the Bengals and recorded 42 receptions on 76 targets for 656 yards receiving and five touchdowns.
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