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Tee Higgins and the Cincinnati Bengals are not in the best phase of their relationship. While the wide receiver is still looking for a long-term deal with the franchise, they're not allowing other teams to talk to him and negotiate a trade for his services, which works as proof of how much they value him.
On Monday, a new report about possible trade talks regarding Tee Higgins came out, and it seems like the Bengals aren't interested - well, at least they aren't interested in trading him to this specific team.
The Baltimore Ravens, the biggest Bengals' rivals in the division for the upcoming season, called Cincinnati's front office to see whether there was any chance of them getting Higgins for what looked like a second-round pick. However, any contact was quickly denied by Zac Taylor's team.
Tee Higgins' contract and market value
The Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver was a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and he quickly outperformed his rookie salary. As only first-round picks are eligible for a fifth-year option, the Bengals had to use the franchise tag on him to keep his services for at least another year.
However, plenty of star players refuse to play under the franchise tag as they look to sign a long-term deal with their teams. Higgins is one of these players, and he has good reason to be upset with the tag: he has already missed on a big money during his first contract, so he's looking for financial security now.
He's set to play under a one-year, $21.8 million deal in 2024, which is the common franchise tag price for wide receivers. While it's unlikely that he would earn a bigger year average on a long-term deal, the fact that there's no financial security involved in the franchise tag makes it unlikely for any NFL player to be happy.
Spotrac projects a four-year, $76 million deal for him when he signs a second NFL contract, which is fair value based on what he gives to the Bengals. Let's see if he's going to sign a new deal in Cincinnati or if he'll search for greener pastures, but Joe Burrow certainly wants him to stay with the team.
