Bengals owner Mike Brown on Tee Higgins contract: 'You can't just pay people willy nilly'

Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown is intent on securing star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase for the long haul, suggesting recently the team will " bend over backwards " to extend the Pro Bowler on a new contract. Just don't count on the Bengals taking the same approach with Chase's fellow wideout Tee Higgins .

"The pie is not going to grow," Brown said of signing Higgins, per Bengals.com. "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. Which means you have less left to pay the others. ... 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."

It's a jarring contrast to Brown's comments on Chase. While the owner has preached patience regarding those contract talks, indicating it may take a while for the two sides to strike a new deal, he all but crowned Chase the Bengals' best player outside of quarterback Joe Burrow : "I'm going to be pleased if [an extension] gets done."

The on-field production of the two receivers helps justify the disparity. Chase has been one of the NFL's most explosive pass catchers when healthy, topping 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons while securing a career-high 100 catches in 2023. Higgins, meanwhile, is a year older and coming off a career-low 656 yards, limited to 12 games due to a hamstring issue. He had topped 1,000 yards in each of the prior two seasons, drawing the club's one-year franchise tag as a free agent this offseason.

The deadline for the Bengals to negotiate a long-term deal with Higgins has passed for this season, meaning the wideout is scheduled to become a free agent again in 2025.