The Bengals need three things to go their way in order to get to the playoffs. If they beat the Steelers and if the Broncos and Dolphins lose, Cincinnati is in.
For receiver Tee Higgins, that becomes a problem. The kind of problem that Bengals fans won’t want to hear about.
On Saturday, Higgins will finish his franchise-tag season, which pays him $21.8 million. That’s $1.21 million per week.
Postseason pay, as spelled out by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, is peanuts by comparison. Higgins would get $45,500 for the wild-card round. He’d get $54,500 for the divisional round. He’d get $77,000 for the conference championship game. He’d get $96,000 for losing the Super Bowl and $171,000 for winning it.
That’s a total upside of $348,000, for four extra games. Four extra opportunities to be injured. Four extra chances to have his shot at the open market delayed or derailed.
From a business standpoint, it’s a no-brainer. Higgins should refuse to play without getting a new contract. From a P.R. standpoint, Higgins would be crushed by fans and some in the media for choosing not to play despite the low pay.
Of course, Higgins would be risking potential punishment if he flat-out refused to play. While he’d obviously lose his playoff check(s), a fine for conduct detrimental to the team could allow the Bengals to retroactively fine Higgins the amount of a game check — even though he will have earned all of his 2024 game checks.
The better approach would be to cite an injury, any injury, to justify not playing.
Starting in October or thereabouts, we hear every year that no player is 100 percent. Higgins definitely isn’t; he’s questionable for Saturday’s Week 18 game with ankle and knee injuries.
So if the Bengals win and the Broncos and Dolphins lose, Higgins can say he’s not healthy enough to play in the playoffs. And that he’s not willing to put his free-agency payday at risk unless the Bengals do what they won’t do: Give him a long-term contract and the financial security that comes along with it.
It’s a business decision. When owners make them, fans and some in the media applaud. When players make them, fans and some in the media find fault.
If those who would find fault or one of their family members were in the situation in which Higgins might soon find himself, they wouldn’t.
