Fox Reporter Blames NFL Players for Tee Higgins’ Status Despite Lowest Franchise Tag Utilization in 30Yrs

Let’s face some harsh realities of the NFL! The Cincinnati Bengals are hoping to sign their two key players—Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins — to contract extensions. But will they be able to pay them both? That’s a problem!

They tagged Higgins for the second-straight year. He’s frustrated and wants long-term security, not just another 1-year deal. But the Bengals have their eyes on locking up Chase, too. And why wouldn’t they? He led the league in the 2024 season with 127 catches, 1,708 yards, and 17 touchdowns. Those numbers scream superstar money. On the other hand, Higgins had career-high 10 touchdown catches. So, the Bengals can’t award both a massive deal. Hence, the franchise tagged him. Enter Amon-Ra St. Brown, who is furious at this approach.

In this week’s podcast, the Lions’ WR appeared fired up about the franchise tag. Although the man signed a four-year contract extension last off-season, he didn’t feel well about his batchmates getting franchise-tagged. He thinks it’s unfair, especially when a player like Tee Higgins gets tagged two years in a row. Sure, $26.4 million is a lot of money, but players want long-term security. So, who is to blame? The team? The league? Or the players themselves?

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Rob Parker on FOX Sports Radio reacted to this topic with his co-host, Kelvin Washington. And guess what? He just slammed the NFL players, showing no sympathy. He expressed, “The players are to blame. It just kills me every year. They sit around and talk about it. Ain’t fair. I would be hot. I would be hot if that happened to be Kelvin. The owners didn’t just push this on them. This is in their CBA that they agreed to. You’re to blame all of your brothers and you guys all deserve what you get.” Well, truth can be bitter.

According to Parker, Tee Higgins and other players who are franchise-tagged are themselves responsible. So, complaining now doesn’t change anything. Owners didn’t force this on them – they negotiated it. “Cause you know what you wanted? Less practice time and to be able to smoke weed. That’s what you got. The NFL was really smart,” as per the radio host. Not only that! Parker didn’t miss a beat while calling out the reality of NFL contracts.

In the same episode, he called NFL contracts “fake.” Why?

He reasoned, “The players have the worst collective bargaining agreement in the history of unions….I don’t care how much they raise the salary cap. How many times do we see guys get cut who have deals? Joey Bosa, all these guys, they’re losing that money. It’s fake contracts… You didn’t sign for that, that phony number that people wave around and show. Oh, look how much money they make.” Parker gave strong views on labeling the contracts as fake. And what about the tags?

Talking about the franchise tag, he said, “This whole talk about the franchise tag, how in the world did they ever agree to allow a team to have you for five years? Then be able to franchise tag you? Three times, no less. And then if you outplay your contract, you can’t get out of your contract. But if you don’t play well, what can they do? Tell you to take a pay cut or they’ll release you.” Parker definitely made some valid arguments there.

Along with this strong statement, Parker also gave an example of MLB stars like Juan Soto. He got every penny of their deals. Meanwhile, NFL teams can keep a player for years and then tag them multiple times. But the second a player underperforms? They’re gone. So, according to Parker, the owners win every time because the players let them win. And this perception might be true, too, given the fact that the NFL saw the lowest franchise tag utilization this time.

Tee Higgins caught in trade dramaThe franchise tag window has closed, and the numbers are surprising. Only two teams used the franchise tag, selecting Tee Higgins and Trey Smith. And let us tell you, that’s the lowest level since 1994. Wait, what? 30 years? Wow! Last year, a total of eight players were franchise-tagged. And if we talk about the usual average? It’s around nine. So, this drop is no coincidence.

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The Bengals placed the franchise tag on Tee Higgins on Monday, setting him up to earn $26.2 million in 2025. On the other hand, Kansas City’s Smith got tagged on Wednesday and will now earn $23.4 million in 2025.

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The franchise tag locks a player in for one year, keeping them from free agency. Teams still have until July 15 to strike a long-term deal. If not, the player plays under the tag. That’s not what Tee Higgins and Trey Smith want for sure!