Bengals to use franchise tag on Tee Higgins: Here’s what it will cost

The Bengals have made a decision on Tee Higgins.

The Cincinnati Bengals have made a decision on Tee Higgins.

With NFL free agency inching closer, the Bengals will place the franchise tag on Higgins.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport broke the news Friday night on Twitter.

Higgins, who just completed his third NFL season, completed his rookie contract after originally being a second-round pick out of Clemson in the 2020 NFL Draft. He was a massive part of the 2021-22 Bengals, who advanced to two AFC Championships and one Super Bowl while winning back-to-back AFC North titles for the first time in franchise history.

The 2023 Bengals were marred by injuries, including Tee Higgins missing five games due to various injuries. The Bengals were 2-3 in those games, and one win was the Week 18 blowout over a Browns team resting most of its best players.

It was not surprising to see the Bengals realize they couldn’t let Higgins walk for nothing. Now, they’ll get time to hammer out a long-term deal, get him for just one more season, or attempt to trade him, potentially for 2024 NFL Draft picks.

However, it was surprising to see the Bengals use the tag this early. They had until March 5th to make a decision on the tag. By using it now, this suggests that a long-term deal isn’t close. It may also indicate they’re willing to hear trade offers for Higgins.

Overall, this was a smart move for the Bengals. Now, let’s see if they can get a real deal done.

If the Bengals do follow through and use a tag on Higgins, it will almost certainly be the non-exclusive franchise tag.

What does that mean? Since you asked, below is an explainer of the various tags an NFL team can apply to players who are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents.

Transition Tag

A player who gets the transition tag is free to negotiate with other teams. The player receives a one-year deal for the greater of one of the two options:

1. The cap percentage average of the top 10 greatest prior year salaries at the player’s position

2. 120% of his own prior year salary.

Should such a player sign an offer sheet with a new team, his former team has five days to match the offer sheet. The transition tag is a cheaper alternative to the franchise tag. The big difference is that should the player’s former team decide not to match, there is no draft-pick compensation tied to the transition tag. If a transition player has not signed an offer sheet with a new team by July 22, he can only negotiate and sign with his prior team that season. This is a rarely-used option. The last player to get transition tagged was Kenyan Drake with the Arizona Cardinals in 2020.

According to Over The Cap, the projected 2024 wide receiver cost for the transition tag is $19,766,000.

Don’t expect the Bengals to use the transition tag.

Non-Exclusive Franchise Tag

A player who receives the non-exclusive franchise tag is free to negotiate with other teams. The player receives a one-year deal with a salary set at the greater of the following two options:

1. The cap percentage average for his position (an amount equal to the sum of the franchise-tag figures at a player’s position over the previous five seasons divided by the sum of the salary caps over the previous five seasons multiplied by the current year’s salary cap).

2. 120% of his PYS (the player’s cap number from the previous season, minus any performance incentives).

Teams that use the non-exclusive tag hold the right of first refusal. If a designated player signs an offer sheet with another team, the player’s previous team has five days to match the offer sheet. Should it decide not to, the player’s original team shall be entitled to draft-choice compensation equivalent to two first-round picks.

Over The Cap projects the 2024 wide receiver cost for the franchise tag to be $21,816,000.

Exclusive Franchise Tag

A player who receives the exclusive franchise tag cannot negotiate with other teams. The player receives a one-year deal for the greater of the following two options:

1. The average of the five-largest prior year salaries at his position.

2. The amount of the non-exclusive franchise tag.

No player received the exclusive franchise tag in 2022, and it’s extremely unlikely Higgins will receive it.

We will have more on this story shortly.