'Who Else Are They Going To Pay?' - Former Bengals Star Defends Wide Receiver Contracts

Cincinnati committed a hefty sum to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

Tee Higgins smiles between questions during a press conference to announce the signing of new contracts for Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Chase becomes the new highest-paid non-quarterback player in the NFL. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — The Bengals are receiving praise and doubt around new contracts for their star wide receivers. 

Former Cincinnati playmaker T.J. Houshmandzadeh gave his thoughts on the new Tee Higgins/Ja'Marr Chase deals, noting the franchise did the right thing by players who've proven their worth.

"Love to see it. I really do," Houshmandzadeh said on FS1's Speak. "You know, what irritates me is you get people that do what I'm doing. We talk about this and, 'Oh, they they're spending their money in the wrong place.' Who else they gonna pay? Who else has earned it? Like they gotta pay somebody. 

"These two on the team have earned it and they deserve it. Who else are they going to pay? You going to go sign a free agent and so had they let both or one of them go, it would have been a complaint. You signed both of them. You got people that want to complain. You got to build your team from the inside out. That is very true. But these dudes have earned it. When you draft a quarterback number one, and you give him $55 million a year. You got to give him some receivers that can go get it done, make plays, 50-50 balls. You have to give him that."

Cincinnati didn't have many other options on the roster to extend and still got a decent discount with Higgins's deal coming in below $30 million per season.

All in all, the Bengals took steps to make their best player happy, and keeping Joe Burrow fully bought in adds weight to the deals as well.

Houshmandzadeh knows what it's like to have a symmetric passing trio in the Queen City.

TJ Houshmandzadeh sounds off on critics who say Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins shouldn't be getting paid big money 👀 pic.twitter.com/Xz1jmv9QKy

— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) March 21, 2025

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