Pay for it, meaning somewhere possibly in the neighborhood of $40 million per year. According to Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz, the near-miss then means the Bengals pay up big now: Ultimately, Chase chose to play and now Cincinnati is staring at the league’s first $40 million wide receiver.

The Cincinnati Bengals reportedly already decided to place the non-exclusive franchise tag on wide receiver Tee Higgins this offseason, and it sounds like they will be on the hook for an even bigger payday for fellow wideout Ja'Marr Chase.

In many ways the 2024 season was horrendous for the Bengals, wasting a year of Joe Burrow's prime, and the offseason won't be easy.

Tee Higgins is viewed as the top free agent in the 2025 class, and a new prediction has him landing with an NFC powerhouse.

Things have been trending toward Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins staying with the team for a few months now. Joe Burrow’s public pressure has been the dominant factor in that analysis, although reports around that time suggesting Higgins doesn’t necessarily want to be a No.