Tee Higgins announced on Monday that the Cincinnati Bengals have placed the franchise tag on him for a second consecutive season.
Higgins' announcement confirms prior reports that the Bengals intended to place the tag on the veteran wide receiver. Higgins made the announcement simply by writing "tag" on social media.
Higgins, 26, is a five-season NFL veteran who's played his entire career with Cincinnati since the Bengals selected him with the first pick of the second round of the 2020 NFL draft. He's emerged as one of the NFL's better receivers and is part of one of the league's top receiver tandems alongside All-Pro Ja'Marr Chase.
Higgins earned $21.8 million on the franchise tag last season after he and the Bengals failed to reach terms on an extension to his rookie contract. He'll be due a 20% raise to $26.2 million in 2025 if he, indeed, plays on the franchise tag again.
The Bengals and Higgins could still reach agreement on a long-term deal this offseason and have until July 15 to work one out. The Bengals applied the franchise tag to Higgins ahead of Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline to do so.
Negotiations with Higgins are part of a high-stakes offseason in Cincinnati in which Chase will seek an extension to his rookie contract and the Bengals face pressure to upgrade a poor defense. Chase is scheduled to play on the fifth-year option on his rookie contract valued at $21.8 million.
Like Higgins, Chase seeking a long-term deal and will demand a contract making him among the highest-paid players in football. Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin vowed last week to make Chase "the No. 1 paid non-quarterback in the league." Minnesota's Justin Jefferson is currently the NFL's highest-paid receiver with a four-year, $140 million contract.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated.
