The Bengals revealed Tee Higgins’ franchise tag by seemingly pretending they didn’t tag him

Monday afternoon brought the news everyone associated with the Cincinnati Bengals has been bracing for months.

Tee Higgins officially signed his franchise tag for the 2024 season after he couldn’t reach an agreement on the long-term extension he wanted with the Bengals. The signs that Higgins was unhappy with his negotiations were abundantly clear, and they’ve now set up a “Last Dance” type of scenario for the Bengals as a premier Super Bowl contender.

But the way the Bengals revealed Higgins’ tag suggests they were, at the very least, trying to assuage the messaging of their failed contract negotiations with one of the team’s best players to their fans.

You see, as many NFL fans pointed out, the Bengals worded Higgins’ tag as a “one-year contract.” Technically, that is true, and Cincinnati does mention the tender in the article on its team website, but the tweet still omits the critical information that Higgins didn’t really have a choice with the tag:

We have re-signed WR Tee Higgins to a one-year contract.

: https://t.co/PcZsjLV6Z3 pic.twitter.com/RzQpgIpNWD

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) June 17, 2024

So ends the Bengals’ saga with Higgins for now.

He’ll play out the 2024 season on his tag. He’ll likely amass around 100 catches and over 1,000 yards … again. He might even make his first Pro Bowl. And whenever the Bengals’ latest campaign ends, their initial social media messaging on Higgins’ tag won’t change that this will probably be his last year in Cincinnati.

NFL fans noticed how the Bengals’ tweet about Tee Higgins’ franchise tag was misleading

This might be the first time I’ve seen a team avoid using the term “franchise tag” and phrasing it like a regular extension lol https://t.co/zhqWujCwcL

— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) June 17, 2024

Funny way of saying “franchise tag” but alright then https://t.co/11i4nBPjWV

— Curt (@curtiss_brown21) June 17, 2024

Bro got franchise tagged and they don’t wanna use that language lmaooo https://t.co/wY6u4L0sO2

— Yung JA (@YungJa49er) June 17, 2024

Saying “one-year extension” instead of the franchise tag is dirty work https://t.co/6UzZXIFaBB

— STONE (@stone_2x) June 17, 2024

“One year contract” instead of word “franchise tag”

Anyways TEEEEEE https://t.co/TFjQ8owh0d

— Brennan Kiley (@BKiley10) June 17, 2024

You mean…..Higgins signed the 1 year contract he was forced to accept…..right?! https://t.co/Tlx5Lfyp5s

— Kevin Winter (@KevinPWinter) June 17, 2024

Oh. That sentence started off nicely. https://t.co/Q1bgvC8gGu

— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) June 17, 2024

After the franchise tag ? Or is this word play that crazy??? https://t.co/LRA6Qckanq

— DB (@DoryanBeach) June 17, 2024

technically true https://t.co/1TKJ3rKCfG

— charles (“you look good” – andy reid) mcdonald (@FourVerts) June 17, 2024