Criticism of the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason has been relentless. As the season approaches, the hope was that we could move on and discuss the on-field product. “Not so fast, my friends,” to quote the wonderful Lee Corso.
As long as the Bengals exist, there will be hypocritical talking points and insulting lists that must include the men in stripes. Such is the case with a recent article from Bleacher Report that created their “All-Overpaid team before Week 1”. And of course, we all know that the Bengals will show up somehow, someway.
Bleacher Report said what about Tee Higgins...?
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon listed 11 players on his All-Overpaid team. Third on his list was Tee Higgins. Gagnon had the following to spew:
"Contract: Four years, $115 million ($40.9 million guaranteed)
It's understandable the Bengals wanted to keep the band together this offseason, but they reached with this new deal for the good-not-great, often-unreliable Higgins.
The 26-year-old's production hasn't matched that of most top-12-paid receivers. He has yet to reach 80 catches, 1,100 yards, or 10-plus touchdowns in a season. Durability is also a concern—he's missed multiple games each of the last two years.
However, the Bengals are realistically locked in for at least $58 million over the course of the next couple of seasons.
It looks like a major overpay, but if he helps this team finally capture a championship, it won't matter."
While the framing of Higgins' contract and contributions in this way is reductive, Gagnon is correct on one crucial point. If the Bengals are the last team standing, none of the noise this offseason will matter.
Curiously, Gagnon named Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle as his runner-up. Waddle would have been a much more appropriate candidate, considering the lack of his team’s success compared to Cincinnati’s since entering the league in 2021.
Furthermore, as salaries continue to rise around him, Higgins’ contract will look like one of the best deals in the league in the next year or two. Also going up is the salary cap. Now that the team has cost control with their top salaries, they can use future cap increases to acquire even more talent while taking advantage of what will hopefully be productive rookie contracts.
One of the best wideouts on a team-friendly deal should receive praise. Yet, here we are.
Is the national media on a Bengals revenge tour?
Dan Le Batard, owner of Meadowlark Media and co-host of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, often points out that members of the national media are never angrier than when their predictions do not come to fruition. And, if those talking heads can, they will blame a player, coach, referee, or organization that caused their hypothesis to be publicly wrong.
The Cincinnati Bengals did what everyone said they could not do. In one offseason, they signed significant extensions with Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Mike Gesicki, and got contracts done with edge rushers Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart.
Egg, meet faces.
It wasn’t that long ago that some were chastising Higgins and his camp for taking an under-the-market deal to remain in Cincinnati.
NBC's Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said that Cincinnati took advantage of Higgins. He even used the word “screwed” when referring to the deal the star receiver took. His co-host, Mike Holly, even went so far as to say the Bengals were supposed to have taken care of their two best receivers because that is what competent teams do.
Also, your favorite Unc, Shannon Sharpe called the contract "bull-jive" when talking to his co-host, and Bengals' legend, Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson on their show, Nightcap.
We went from Higgins got screwed and a bull-jive contract to now he is on an overpaid list? Only because it is the Bengals. Now it is the national media with eggs on their collective faces. And they can’t abide by that.
Some in the media might be on a revenge tour. Cincinnati’s front office took away its ammunition of calling the C-suite cheap and incapable of getting deals done. Now, talking heads must pivot to why those same deals are bad.
We already started to see it with people saying the defense was bad with Hendrickson, so why should we expect better?
More recently, it was the team’s salary cap that was too top-heavy after paying their stars. Calling Tee Higgins overpaid is an extension of that.
Tee Higgins boasts excellent value for WR1-caliber player
Early in the offseason, leading up to free agency, the internet was abuzz with articles and discussions about where Higgins would play in 2025. The Commanders and Chargers were consistently the favorites. Patriots fans were beyond thirsty. But as Cincinnati philosopher Duke Tobin pontificated, every other team should get their own wide receiver.
The Bengals re-up Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, with long-term deals crossing the finish line overnight, sources confirm. At the combine, Duke Tobin said, of teams waiting for Higgins to be traded, “They want a receiver, go find your own.”
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 17, 2025
The Bengals have theirs. https://t.co/8apaEwovDi
Other teams wanted Higgins to be their WR1 or 1a. And, they were willing to pay substantially more for his services. Cincinnati’s star and his former agent knew that. However, because he wanted to stay in the Queen City and his former agent, David Mulugheta, sought the most significant contract, they parted ways. Higgins signed with Ja'Marr Chase’s agent, Rocky Arceneaux, and he and the club struck a deal.
Higgins’ 10 touchdowns were fifth among receivers last season. His 75.9 yards per game ranked ninth. And his value for not allowing teams to key on Chase is invaluable for a heavy passing offense and an MVP-caliber quarterback who threw the most passes last season, by a wide margin.
Joe Burrow’s 460 attempts greatly eclipsed Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield, who threw 407 passes, the second-most.
Whenever someone refers to Higgins as the best No. 2 receiver in the league, Chase will quickly correct the comment by pointing out that Higgins is a one.
If Tee Higgins left Cincinnati, he would have been a WR1. Instead, he is the highest paid WR2. When I went to ask Tee about that, Ja'Marr Chase immediately stepped in. This bond is unusual and special.#Bengals @WCPO pic.twitter.com/jKehbSvX7a
— Marshall Kramsky (@marshallkramsky) March 18, 2025
Most will tell you that acquiring the best players possible was the goal that will hopefully lead to winning. They will say, 'Do what you must to keep talent in the building.' That is the case for every team, except for the Bengals, apparently. For them, no matter what, they can do no right in the eyes of the public.
If another team had picked up Higgins, the front office would have been heavily criticized for letting him walk out of the building. Now that he remains with the team he wants to be on, the criticisms continue, despite him being one of the best wide receivers in the league.
National talking heads can’t get on the same page when it comes to the Bengals organization. No matter what, they will look for the negative angle to take.
Adding Higgins to an overpaid list is wrong. The Bengals have been proving everyone wrong throughout the offseason. But let's hope they prove Gagnon correct by holding up the Lombardi at the end of the season, rendering all of the naysayers speechless.