The Cincinnati Bengals have spent the past three seasons with two of the league's most dynamic weapons flanking the perimeter. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins have already established themselves as one of the league's best tandems, and they're still entering the prime of their careers.
Keeping the duo together, however, will be easier said than done — especially after the wide receiver market skyrocketed this offseason.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Jefferson's contract extension, which will earn him $35 million per year, was just one of the many deals that redefined the wide receiver market in 2024. Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown and Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown also earned deals with an average annual value over $30 million, with wideouts Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, and Nico Collins trailing not too far behind.
The Bengals, in comparison, have managed to carry Chase and Higgins for pennies. The duo combined for an average salary of $9.8 million per year in 2023. Higgins' contract carried an average annual value of $2.1 million, ranking him 81st among all active wide receivers in the NFL.
Cincinnati selected Higgins in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and he has been nothing short of remarkable since he stepped onto the field. In his four seasons, the 25-year-old receiver has reeled in 257 catches for 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns. NFL players voted Higgins as the most underrated player in the league during an anonymous player survey conducted by The Athletic.
Tee Higgins' mother suggests a contract extension is coming
The Bengals placed the franchise tag designation on Higgins to prevent him from entering free agency this offseason. Although Higgins ultimately signed the tag earlier this month, the lingering contract disputes have continued to hover over the team.
Higgins' mother, Camilla Stewart, weighed in on the contract situation on Friday.
"My son deserves it and it's coming," Stewart posted on social media. "Gods timing sirs Gods timing."
The post was in response to a clip from the "Bleav in Bengals" podcast discussing whether the Bengals could afford to keep Higgins, Chase, and quarterback Joe Burrow.
Higgins will earn $21.8 million under the franchise tag this season, but he is open to negotiating a long-term contract extension. The Bengals have until July 15 to agree to terms for a long-term deal with Higgins. After that deadline, the 25-year-old wideout will have to play out the season on the franchise tag before entering free agency in 2025.
Before signing the tag, Higgins remained embroiled in contract negotiations with the Bengals. He missed the team’s entire offseason program while he was unsigned, including the voluntary organized team activities and the mandatory three-day minicamp. Since Higgins was not under contract, he is not subject to any fines for missing the mandatory three-day minicamp, which concluded on Thursday. It’s likely that the wideout waited to sign the tag after minicamp ended in order to avoid fines.
Chase and Higgins could cost Cincinnati over $50 million per season. Bengals general manager Duke Tobin will have to decide if he wants to tie up that much of the team's cap space in one position group. Along with Burrow's contract, the trio of contracts could account for anywhere between 20 percent to 30 percent of the team's annual salary cap space. With 50 other players to account for, keeping both star wideouts would undoubtedly erode talent across Cincinnati's roster.
