The Cincinnati Bengals were not able to come to terms on a contract extension with star wide receiver Tee Higgins before the deadline this month, and it sounds like Higgins is going to have to accept less money if he wants to stay with the Bengals.
During a recent press conference, Cincinnati Bengals team owner Mike Brown did not hold back his thoughts on the situation as he said that the team “can’t just pay people willy nilly” as they try to navigate the salary cap.
“The pie is not going to grow. It’s only going to be a certain size, but when you reach a point with your quarterback that you have to pay him a big contract, that takes a disproportionate piece out of the pie,” Brown said according to Geoff Hobson of the Cincinnati Bengals team website. “Which means you have less left to pay the others. Sometimes that impacts whether you can get the others signed.
“You can’t just pay people willy nilly. You’re restricted on how much you can pay, and we really like Tee Higgins. We would wish to sign him, but it has to be at a certain level to fit within the cap or it can’t be done.”
Reading between the lines, it’s pretty clear that the Bengals do not intend to offer Higgins a contract consistent with the market for top wide receivers.
