The wide receiver’s new payday comes with added scrutiny.
What else does Tee Higgins have to do to get respect?
The physical wide receiver has 4,595 yards and 34 touchdowns in five seasons despite missing 14 games.
Plus, he plays across from the greatest receiver in the game, Ja’Marr Chase, which means he isn’t getting as many targets as he potentially could.
And yet, Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report labeled him the most overpaid player on the Cincinnati Bengals’ roster.
Here’s Gagnon’s argument:
I wrote in this spot last year that the $21.8 million franchise-tag rate is silly for a player who has never gone over 75 catches, 1,100 yards or seven touchdowns in four non-Pro Bowl campaigns. He did score 10 touchdowns in 2024, but the rest remains true for a player now making $28.8 million per season.
Of course, this take could partly be to draw attention to the piece, as a number of other star players were on the list: the Buffalo Bills’ Joey Bosa, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, the Los Angeles Chargers’ Khalil Mack, the Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott, and the San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa.
Higgins, of course, had his best performance last year when it mattered most, against the Denver Broncos in primetime with a playoff position on the line. Watch highlights of that game (and others) below.