Tee Higgins Would ‘Love’ To Sign Long-Term Deal With Bengals

Bengals franchise WR Tee Higgins said during an appearance on the “I Am Athlete” podcast that he would “love” to sign an extension to remain in Cincinnati long-term.

“As far as coming back, I would love to come back,” Higgins said, via James Rapien of SI.com. “I grew as a man in the past four years here. Grew as a player, made — got good new friendships. Great relationships with people not in the facility, in the City of Cincinnati, the fans are great. So I would definitely love to be here. But if that’s not the situation, then that’s not the situation.”

Higgins has not signed his franchise tender up to this point, which has left him ineligible to participate in offseason workouts. 

Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer previously reported that Higgins was initially looking for a similar contract to the three-year, $70 million deal the Colts gave WR Michael Pittman this offseason.

However, the Bengals never approached the $20 million per year range for Higgins in their contract talks.

Indications are that Higgins will play out the year under the franchise tag before hitting the open market again next year. 

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.