Tee Higgins and the Bengals have not yet reached an agreement on a new deal because Cincinnati chose to franchise-tag the talented wide receiver in March before to the start of free agency. Higgins’s salary for the upcoming season will be $21.8 million if a deal is not reached by  15.

An update on the contract negotiations between the parties was provided by Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway. Conway claims that Higgins desired a salary akin to Colts wide out.

Pittman, who will make $23 million a year, inked a three-year, $70 million contract. According to the article, despite Higgins’ requests, the Bengals and Higgins never reached the $20 million annual threshold, and the topic of guaranteed money was avoided.

Conway continues, “Higgins never asked to be the highest paid receiver in the league, and when he was talking about a future contract, he didn’t have a certain amount of guaranteed money in mind.”

Higgins’s frustration reached a boiling point, and he has now made two trade requests, the most recent one being made a week ago at the same time as teammate, who also made a trade request due to differences in contract.

Despite missing five games due to an injury during the previous season, Higgins recorded 42 receptions, 656 yards, and five touchdowns in 2023. In 2022, he had a career-high 1,029 yards and seven touchdowns.