Tee Higgins' guaranteed money in 4-year contract confirms Bengals broke precedent like they did with Joe Burrow
The full details of Tee Higgins' four-year, $115 million contract have been unveiled, and like most things in life, the truth is somewhere between two extremes. When Higgins' deal was first announced Sunday evening, it was reported that the 26-year old's deal included guarantees in the second year of his deal. This was a monumental aspect […]
The full details of Tee Higgins' four-year, $115 million contract have been unveiled, and like most things in life, the truth is somewhere between two extremes.
When Higgins' deal was first announced Sunday evening, it was reported that the 26-year old's deal included guarantees in the second year of his deal. This was a monumental aspect of the news as future guarantees were something only Joe Burrow was able to get from the Bengals.
Higgins did in fact break precedent, but not exactly like some of us thought.
Tee Higgins' 4-year, $115 million contract details
| YEAR | BASE SALARY | PRORATED ROSTER BONUS | ROSTER BONUS | PER GAME ROSTER BONUS | WORKOUT BONUS | CAP NUMBER | CASH SPEND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2025 | $13,800,000 | $5,000,000 | $0 | $2,000,000 | $100,000 | $20,311,765 | $35,900,000 |
2026 | $10,900,000 | $5,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $100,000 | $28,000,000 | $58,900,000 |
2027 | $19,200,000 | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $100,000 | $31,300,000 | $85,200,000 |
2028 | $27,300,000 | $5,000,000 | $0 | $2,000,000 | $500,000 | $34,800,000 | $115,000,000 |
The above details are per OverTheCap.com.
Instead of a traditional signing bonus, the Bengals gave Higgins a guaranteed $20 million roster bonus at signing. It acts the same way as a signing bonus as it's prorated equally throughout the life of the deal, so it'll account for $5 million of cap space each year.
You'll notice that the cap number for 2025 is not the exact sum of all the 2025 numbers. That's because $588,235 of Higgins' $2 million in per game roster bonuses are considered Not Likely To Be Earned (NLTBE) and doesn't count against the cap. Higgins missed five of Cincinnati's 17 games in 2024 (5/17 = 588,235/2,000,000), so he'll get the full $2 million if he plays all 17 games this season, but the cap number does not have to include the amount he'd earn if he played more games than last year.
$8 million of the potential $115 million Higgins can earn is baked into those per game bonuses. If there's a team-friendly aspect to this deal, it's that. The former second-round pick has missed 10 games since the start of the 2023 season, so these bonuses are incentives to ensure he plays as much as possible.
Speaking of incentives, per Spotrac, Higgins can earn $1 million for each season he played 65% of snaps in the regular season and the Bengals win the the AFC Championship. He can earn $1.7 million for playing 65% and winning the Super Bowl.
How much money is guaranteed at signing?
The aforementioned $20 million roster bonus makes up two-thirds of the guaranteed money at signing for Higgins. The other $10 million is a roster bonus for 2026, which is not prorated beyond that year, but is guaranteed nonetheless.
If Higgins is on the team this time next year, he will get that $10 million. There is offset language like there is for the vast majority of future guaranteed cash in other contracts, but it is indeed a future guarantee at signing.
In total, $30 million is completely guaranteed in NFL terms. Even more is guaranteed after this year as well.
Higgins gets a rolling guarantee in 2026
The guaranteed money in Higgins' deal will climb to $40.9 million if he's on the roster five days after the 2026 league year begins. Barring something completely unforeseen, the Bengals will not let Higgins go before that date.
Higgins' $10.9 base salary is what will become guaranteed. Since it is not guaranteed at signing, it's what's considered a "rolling guarantee." This practice has never been utilized by the Bengals before when it comes to a base salary outside of Burrow. Cincinnati's franchise quarterback had his $25.2 million salary for 2026 fully guarantee on the fifth day of the 2025 league year, which was this past Sunday.
Instead of guaranteeing it 18 months ahead of time, Higgins' 2026 salary will be locked in sixth months ahead of time. Even if it's not guaranteed at signing, this is still breaking new ground for the Bengals in terms of non-Burrow contracts.
Higgins' deal in practical terms
Since we can safely project Higgins will be on the team through the 2026 season, he will be getting $58.9 million over the next two years if he plays in each and every regular season game. If the Bengals feel its best to move on from him after that year, they could release or trade him and save $21.3 million in cap space for 2027 and take on $10 million in dead cap. That's a lot of dead cap for one player in the Bengals' eyes, so Higgins has a great chance of playing out three years of this four-year deal.
After three years, Higgins will earn $85.2 million, an average of $28.4 million per year, with nearly half of that guaranteed. In 2028, when Higgins will be 29 years old, the Bengals will have the option to pay him $29.8 million in cash, or move on from him and only take on $5 million in dead cap.
So, if you're of the opinion that Higgins was done "dirty" by the Bengals or he purposely took a deal too friendly for the Bengals, he signed what is effectively a three-year, $85.2 million deal with a team option in year four.
That does not fit that narrative in the slightest as virtually all contracts of this magnitude run out of guarantees after the first two years anyways.