Tee Higgins requests a trade !

[Homer_Rice]

13 hours ago, Dautcom08 said:

That's been the case for anything Enquirer related for a long, long time.

Cincinnati Enquirer

4-4-24

 

Read M. Anweep

 

In a possibly controversial move that will affect the entire sports world, Tee Higgins, after chugging eight beers in a sports bar while watching March Madness, told his agent to explore his returning to college to play four years of Hoops with the UConn Huskies. Rumor has it he wants to play for both the Men's and the Women's teams utilizing the special NCAA clause of "If it brings in more money, then that's a good thing!" As for Higgins, he thinks he can get a decent NIL deal. When asked to offer more detail while barside this past weekend, Higgin's said "I can fly, I can sky, I can hit a bull eye! Gimme another Corona."

 

Upon hearing this rumor, the UConn coaches reacted. Geno Auriemma said, " I hope he isn't injury-prone. We can use all the help we can get." Dan Hurley chewed his gum furiously and said, "Hell, Yeah!" And then he exploded.

[|BlackJesus|]

 

[sparky151]

And rumor is the Bucs and Winfield are close to a deal. 

[Jamie_B]

[|BlackJesus|]

^ I'm surprised Tee replied. 

 

And if by "best", he means risking Tee's life-changing financial security to potential injury to inflate his own ego and marketability to other clients, then yes. 💩 

[stryker57]

if thats what Tee wants then so be it. make a deal to sign near the tag with the agreement of no tag next year.  now  i do  like Tee, and i have seen some very good things in his play. but  i am not sure i have seen 30 mil /yr play . and i would hesitate at the guarantees being reported he is asking.   to be fair the bengals have a track record of paying out contracts,  

 

[I_C_Deadpeople]

Not sure why Tee would be frustrated with other tagged players getting deals. Perhaps they accepted fair amounts instead of asking for too much?

[sparky151]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/top-receiver-deals-definitely-arent-what-they-seem-to-be

 

Tee and his agent should read that. He's already being overpaid on the tag. 

[Le Tigre]

1 hour ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

Not sure why Tee would be frustrated with other tagged players getting deals. Perhaps they accepted fair amounts instead of asking for too much?

Once again…other than media hacks saying he’s “frustrated”, when has he said that he is (like a quote or something)? 
 

And I don’t mean like when someone says “ the process can be frustrating..yada yada”. None of that confirms “I hate this team” 

[|BlackJesus|]

[|BlackJesus|]

 

Link 

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-bengals-offer-to-tee-higgins-never-approached-20-million-a-year

[MichaelWeston]

31 minutes ago, BlackJesus said:

 

Link 

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-bengals-offer-to-tee-higgins-never-approached-20-million-a-year

This makes absolutely no sense. They are paying him more than 20M

[BBR]

It also means they were at 19+ million per year, otherwise they would have said it never reached 19 million.  Probably without the fake years at the end of the deal that are just there to increase the average value of the contract too.

[JC]

Part of me wonders is if they never came close prior to his Y4 since they had all the leverage. Since it’s been reported they haven’t talked in over a year - maybe that’s where the final offer stood.

 

If he just wants Pittman numbers and the Bengals are that unwilling to go there - it’s pretty disappointing.

[Arkansas Bengal]

Exclusive: New details emerge about Tee Higgins, Bengals contract negotiations

Kelsey Conway

Cincinnati Enquirer

 

 

The Cincinnati Bengals placed the franchise tag on wide receiver Tee Higgins for the upcoming season after not being able to agree on a long-term contract extension over the last two years. New details about the Bengals and Higgins’ negotiation process have emerged.

 

Higgins never requested to become the highest paid wide receiver in the NFL, sources tell The Enquirer. In fact, the range Higgins was initially looking for is similar to what the Indianapolis Colts just gave wide receiver Michael Pittman this year after placing the franchise tag on him. The Colts and Pittman agreed to a three-year deal worth $70 million with an annual average salary of $23 million.

 

Terry McClaurin, Deebo Samuel comparisons at WR

 

Pittman’s contract falls in line with the deals the Washington Commanders gave wide receiver Terry McClaurin and what the San Francisco 49ers gave wide receiver Deebo Samuel, two other examples of the type of contract Higgins was originally seeking from the Bengals.

 

McClaurin signed a three-year contract extension with the Commanders worth $68.2 million with an average annual salary of $22 million. Samuel signed a three-year deal worth $71 million with an average annual salary of $23 million.

 

How much did the Cincinnati Bengals offer Tee Higgins?

 

The Bengals never approached the $20 million range for Higgins, sources told The Enquirer. Due to the original offer Cincinnati’s front office gave Higgins for his annual salary, the two sides never advanced to the next round of conversations which would have been about guaranteed money, sources also confirmed to The Enquirer. Any speculation that Higgins and his representation are asking for a specific amount of guaranteed money from the Bengals is not accurate.

 

When The Enquirer reached out to the Bengals for a comment on the subject, they reiterated the following quote from head coach Zac Taylor.

 

"We’re excited for Tee to have a great year for us," Taylor said. "We think he’s our best chance to help us win a Super Bowl. I’ve enjoyed working with Tee the last four years, I expect this year to be no different.”

 

Higgins’ request for a trade this offseason came after the two sides never re-engaged in negotiations. Typically, when an NFL team uses the franchise tag on a player it’s used to give both sides more time to reach a long-term deal. Cincinnati’s front office has made it clear they don’t plan to trade Higgins.

 

Defensive end Josh Allen of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittman of the Colts are two examples of players who were tagged by their teams who eventually got long-term deals done this spring.

 

Tee Higgins stats with Cincinnati Bengals

 

In four seasons with the Bengals, Higgins has caught 257 passes for 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns. He is coming off an injury-riddled season that led to him missing five games last year. Higgins amassed 1,000 receiving yards twice so far in his professional campaign.

 

Higgins and the Bengals have until July 15 to reach a long-term deal and if not, Higgins will play this season and make $21.8 million. When a team applies the franchise tag on a player, the number is set based on the average of the top five salaries at the position over the past five years.

 

The highest paid wide receiver in the NFL right now is AJ Brown who just agreed to a three-year extension with the Eagles worth $96 million. Brown’s annual salary is now $32 million. Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins is the second-highest paid wide receiver in the NFL making $30 million a year.

 

Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase are next in line for extensions at the receiver position. Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings have yet to come to an agreement on a new deal and it’s one Cincinnati’s front office will closely monitor.

 

The Bengals picked up Chase’s fifth-year option last week giving the team more time to work on a long-term deal with their Pro Bowl wideout. Chase said he wants to see what Jefferson is offered before engaging in contract discussions.

 

 

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2024/04/29/bengals-contract-negotiations-details-tee-higgins-extension/73505259007/?utm_source=cincinnati-bengals-news-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sportsbaseline&utm_term=hero&utm_content=pcin-cincinnati-nletter01

[MichaelWeston]

I haven't broken down the math at all but I seemingly would gladly pay the Pittman rate. It makes sense. His contract ends around when you start paying Chase and Burrow more in a sense.

 

I don't really believe this article. I don't believe they haven't talked at all. i think the reality is that they want more guaranteed money. I heard around 65M. 

[JC]

For whatever it’s worth. Also details Bengals and Jessie had a verbal agreement that DM backed out on. Had never heard that.

[dex]

36 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said:

I haven't broken down the math at all but I seemingly would gladly pay the Pittman rate. It makes sense. His contract ends around when you start paying Chase and Burrow more in a sense.

 

I don't really believe this article. I don't believe they haven't talked at all. i think the reality is that they want more guaranteed money. I heard around 65M. 

Guaranteed money surely is the big sticking point with Higgins, and it figures to loom very large with Chase as well. Pittman ( a comp for Tee) signed a 3 yr 70M contract with 46M guaranteed.

 

But the new extension with AJ Brown (a decent Chase comp) is for 3 yrs 96M with a staggering 84M guaranteed. That makes the full value of the contract about 80 percent guaranteed, a figure that Cincinnati has never approached with anyone other than Burrow. Will they actually do it for Chase? If they refuse to come even close to that kind of guaranteed money, it is difficult to imagine Chase signing an extension with the Bengals. Surely the front office is smart enough to realize this, and understand that they might need to change their basic contract structure for an elite talent like Chase. They cannot afford to have BOTH Higgins and Chase leave in free agency....

[|Montana Bengal|]

 

 

[sparky151]

4 hours ago, dex said:

Guaranteed money surely is the big sticking point with Higgins, and it figures to loom very large with Chase as well. Pittman ( a comp for Tee) signed a 3 yr 70M contract with 46M guaranteed.

 

But the new extension with AJ Brown (a decent Chase comp) is for 3 yrs 96M with a staggering 84M guaranteed. That makes the full value of the contract about 80 percent guaranteed, a figure that Cincinnati has never approached with anyone other than Burrow. Will they actually do it for Chase? If they refuse to come even close to that kind of guaranteed money, it is difficult to imagine Chase signing an extension with the Bengals. Surely the front office is smart enough to realize this, and understand that they might need to change their basic contract structure for an elite talent like Chase. They cannot afford to have BOTH Higgins and Chase leave in free agency....

 

AJ Brown's guarantees are inflated as he's not only getting a signing bonus for the new years but the team is effectively guaranteeing the remainder of his prior deal. 

 

1 hour ago, Montana Bengal said:

 

 

 

Tee may be asking but if the team isn't making a new offer, then they aren't negotiating. 

 

If they aren't willing to pay similar to Pittman, they should have just traded Tee at the beginning of free agency. It would mean we could have afforded more expensive free agents such as Christian Wilkins and done something in the draft like take Brian Thomas in round 1 and Patrick Paul with the traded pick for Tee. Or still taken Mims and picked AD Mitchell with the traded pick. 

[Le Tigre]

Reading where Tee/agent are indicating a Pittman-like deal would be agreeable. 
 

It’s speculative, and nothing confirmed. 
 

If true, they are not that far apart. 

[dex]

28 minutes ago, Le Tigre said:

Reading where Tee/agent are indicating a Pittman-like deal would be agreeable. 
 

It’s speculative, and nothing confirmed. 
 

If true, they are not that far apart. 

You may be overlooking the guaranteed money aspect, which in many cases is the single most important aspect to agents. Pittman is getting 46M of the 70M guaranteed over the 3 year contract. The most Cincinnati has ever guaranteed on a non-QB salary is 31M to Orlando Brown. So far it doesn't matter to the Bengals front office (nor to the agents they are sparring with) that the players almost always eventually get the money and more. They refuse to put those kind of guarantees into these contracts the way the agents demand, and until they do it's going to remain a problem.

[|BlackJesus|]

With the tag Tee is being paid the average of the top WR contracts from the last 5 seasons.

 

But nobody believes he is a top 5 WR in the NFL. He's much closer to being around the 10-12th best (when injury concern are factored in).

 

I'm not sure why his agent "laughed" at 18 mill per year, as to me that's closer to his actual value than 23-25 per season. 

 

The Bengals are right to offer 18-19 avg a year and expect that he not flop or flame out in the first year in order to receive his 2nd year salary.

 

If he doesn't like that deal then he can play on the tags for 21 this season and 24 next year (which gives him more $ but at higher risk if injured). 

[Dautcom08]

35 minutes ago, BlackJesus said:

With the tag Tee is being paid the average of the top WR contracts from the last 5 seasons.

 

But nobody believes he is a top 5 WR in the NFL. He's much closer to being around the 10-12th best (when injury concern are factored in).

 

I'm not sure why his agent "laughed" at 18 mill per year, as to me that's closer to his actual value than 23-25 per season. 

 

The Bengals are right to offer 18-19 avg a year and expect that he not flop or flame out in the first year in order to receive his 2nd year salary.

 

If he doesn't like that deal then he can play on the tags for 21 this season and 24 next year (which gives him more $ but at higher risk if injured). 

 

Per overthecap.com

 

[sparky151]

Yeah, back before free agency started Spotrac did something similar in calculating open market values for various impending free agents. The number for Tee was about $16 mil if I remember right. It was well below the tag number. 

 

If Pittman's deal (done right before free agency started) was too much for the Bengals to swallow, they should have just traded Tee. Once New England lost out on Calvin Ridley, they should have traded for Tee with their 2nd rounder. That would be a fair price for both sides. They could have then traded pick 3 to the Giants for a couple of seconds, taken Nabers or Odunze at 6 to pair with Tee, picked an O-lineman like Paul in round 2 and set things up for a new QB next year.