CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins has secured a new four-year contract, opting out of a fully-guaranteed $26.16 million franchise tender and a potential free agency in 2026. ProFootballTalk has terms of the deal from a source, as does Sports Illustrated 's Albert Breer.

After more than a year of contentious negotiations, the Cincinnati Bengals signed wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to four-year contract extensions. Two years ago, the tandem was earning a combined average annual salary of just $9.

As it turns out, changing to the same representation as teammate Ja'Marr Chase was partially a huge leverage play. Now both Chase and Higgins have NFL-altering contract extensions. According to the 33rd Team's Ari Meirov, Higgins' agent told the Bengals something quite simple: No Higgins extension, no Chase deal.