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.
The Bengals later confirmed the franchise designation alongside their stated "intent of continuing to work toward a long-term deal."
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 ultimately 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. In 12 games last season, Higgins tallied 73 catches for 911 yards and a career-high 10 touchdowns.
High-stakes offseason for Bengals
Negotiations with Higgins are part of a high-stakes offseason in Cincinnati in which Chase will seek an extension to his rookie contract. Chase is scheduled to play next season on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal that's valued at $21.8 million.
Like Higgins, Chase is seeking a long-term deal and will demand a contract among the richest 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.
The Bengals also face pressure to upgrade a defense that ranked 25th in both yards and points allowed last season. Cincinnati missed the playoffs despite ranking sixth in the league with 27.8 points per game behind a potent offense featuring Chase and Higgins and led by quarterback Joe Burrow, who made his second Pro Bowl and earned Comeback Player of the Year honors behind a career-best season.
Per Spotrac, the Bengals have roughly $43.9 million in salary cap space available, the 14th-most in the NFL.
