Tee Higgins prefers not to be known as the highest-paid No. 2 receiver

When Bengals receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins simultaneously agreed to and announced new deals with the team, the implication (given the numbers) was obvious. At $40.25 million per year in new money, Chase is WR1. At $28.75 million per year, Higgins is WR2.

Higgins doesn't want to be known as Cincinnati's second fiddle.

"I don't even look at it like that, you know what I mean?" Higgins told reporters during a joint press conference with Chase announcing their new contracts. "I kind of wish they wouldn't have put it out there like that, because now that's what everybody's saying, 'I'm the highest-paid two.' Let's just say I'm at a place where they value me and they respect me and I'm a good player. Let's just say that. Not the highest receiver two or anything like that. Let's just say he's another great Bengals receiver that puts in the work and got his head down and just grinds."

Chase characterized Higgins as the team's 1A receiver. Which is accurate. Higgins has performed well when Chase isn't available. And Higgins would be the No. 1 receiver on most other rosters.

He could have landed that title next year. If he'd refused to sign a long-term deal, he would have made $26.16 million in 2025 before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2026.

Regardless of where Higgins's contract puts him on the Bengals payroll, he's now the eighth highest-paid receiver in the NFL, behind only Chase, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, A.J. Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Tyreek Hill, and Brandon Aiyuk.