According to reports, the Bengals agreed to terms on a four-year, $115 million contract extension with the wide receiver Sunday night. The deal will make Higgins the eighth-highest-paid wideout in the NFL per year in 2025.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Friday that the two sides were making progress on a massive extension. Fellow Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was part of the same report, with Rapoport indicating both deals would get done soon after the news broke Friday.
After failing to agree to terms on a contract extension ahead of the franchise tag deadline earlier this month, Higgins was set to play on the franchise tag for a second straight year in 2025. He’s now due to make $28.75 million in 2025, a $2.55 million difference from the value of the franchise tag, and he’ll stick around in Cincinnati for four more years. The first two years are fully guaranteed for Higgins and his deal could be worth over $30 million per year with incentives, per reports.
In five seasons with the Bengals, Higgins has 330 catches for 4,595 receiving yards and 34 touchdowns in his career. The wideout missed five games in 2024 with hamstring, quad and ankle injuries, but he still compiled 911 yards and 10 touchdowns on 73 receptions.
According to Overthecap.com, the Bengals now have $26.8 million in available cap space for the 2025 league year.
Cincinnati is coming off a 9-8 season in which it narrowly missed the playoffs. It holds the No. 17 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.