Tee Higgins' mother throws up 'double bird' to haters as Bengals WR secures $115,000,000 bag

Tee Higgins is getting the biggest payday of his career after securing a four-year, $115-million extension with the Cincinnati Bengals late on Sunday. And his detractors should stop doubting him, says his mother Lady Stewart.

On Monday afternoon, she posted this to her X.com account:

"Uh on here the haters come... double (middle finger emoji) to u haters (two roll-laughing emojis)."

On "The Facility," Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz talked about how Tee Higgins' and Ja'Marr Chase's extensions came to be:

“When Tee Higgins made the switch to Ja'Marr's agent, Rocky Arceneaux of Alliance Sports, the same agent told them, 'Look, I'm not gonna do one or the other. It's going to be both together.'”

Higgins, who will become the highest-paid WR2 in the league, will receive completely guaranteed money in the first two years of his deal.

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ESPN insiders weigh in on whether Tee Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase extensions improve Bengals' prospects

In 2024, the Bengals finished 9-8 and out of the playoffs for the second consecutive time. But it was not for lack of trying.

Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase resumed being a dominant duo, Tee Higgins nearly returned to his 2021 and 2022 self and Chase Brown and Mike Gesicki had breakout performances.

And with the wideouts secured in the long term, the team's ESPN reporter, Ben Baby, believes their chances have improved, surprisingly on defense. He cited these comments that defensive end Joseph Ossai made after he signed a one-year extension:

"It allows us to play free and just have that mindset – all we have to do is get the ball back to the offense. If you know that, and 75% of the time the offense has the ball, and they're going to drive there and score it, you can do whatever you want as a defense."

Meanwhile, draft analyst Jordan Reid opined that the development will allow the Bengals to focus on improving the offensive line. Their immediate priority is at guard after the release of Alex Cappa.

Should they remain put at 17th, one option for them is Alabama's Tyler Booker. Or they can trade down to the 20-25 range for one of Ohio State's Donovan Jackson and North Dakota State's Grey Zabel, then use whatever Day 2/3 picks they acquire to improve the defense, like edge rusher should Trey Hendrickson leave.