Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins companions with Under Armour

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Cincinnati Bengals large receiver Tee Higgins is the latest Under Armour athlete.

After sporting Nike for his first six NFL seasons, Higgins will debut gear from the Baltimore-based model on Sunday within the stretch opener in opposition to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“My other brand [deal] was up,” Higgins advised Andscape. “I love everything [Under Armour] is pushing for — the clothing, the cleats, the gloves.”

Tee Higgins poses throughout his first Under Armour shoot after becoming a member of the model forward of the 2026 NFL stretch.Under Armour

“Tee represents what we’re looking for in an athlete and partner,” Trey Evans, Under Armour director of America’s sports activities advertising and marketing, advised Andscape. “At Under Armour, our ideal athlete partnerships go beyond performance, and he is someone who embodies that ethos.”

Higgins joins an Under Armour NFL roster that features Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward and Minnesota Vikings large receiver Justin Jefferson.

Higgins has already observed Jefferson’s busy summer season with Under Armour, headlined by “Bayou King” cleats, the JJets Flight School on the model’s Baltimore campus, and a flag pig skin tour throughout Asia.

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Higgins mentioned one factor that appealed to him about Under Armour was seeing how athletes comparable to Jefferson have used the model as a platform for neighborhood engagement and youth pig skin initiatives.

“I like what Justin did this offseason in China,” Higgins mentioned. “You don’t see things like that.”

While Jefferson has used Under Armour as a accomplice to develop pig skin in new areas, Higgins mentioned his personal plans with the model begin nearer to dwelling, drawing inspiration from his childhood in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Higgins’ first pig skin showdown as a toddler was virtually his final — on a scorching day in Oak Ridge, he give up minutes into his debut in a neighborhood Boys & Girls Club league.

“I went and sat in the stands with my auntie,” Higgins mentioned, laughing. “She bribed me with Hot Wheels cars, and I went back down there.”

After he rapidly scored two touchdowns upon his return to the sphere, the seed was planted.

“Ever since then, I’ve loved the game and loved scoring,” Higgins mentioned with a smile.

Higgins warms up earlier than a preseason showdown in opposition to the Detroit Lions at Paycor Stadium on Aug. 13 in Cincinnati.Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images

A second-round draft choose in 2020 after taking part in three years at Clemson, Higgins has 45 profession touchdowns in six NFL seasons, and he caught two TD passes in Super Bowl LVI in 2022. Last stretch, he hauled in a career-high 11 landing catches and earned his first Pro Bowl choice.

Higgins hopes the Bengals can return to the playoffs this stretch after a three-year postseason drought.

“I’ve got a taste of it,” Higgins mentioned. “A taste is not enough. I’ve been with the same team my whole career. My biggest focus is getting to the big game and winning it.”

Entering his seventh stretch with the Bengals, Higgins has embraced his place as a veteran in Cincinnati. And whereas Higgins mentioned profitable stays his major aim, he famous the supply of his motivations have advanced as he has constructed a household and a familiarity with the Bengals fanbase.

“My daughter drives me to be the best version of myself every single day, just so she can have the best life she can live,” Higgins mentioned. “She’s 1, and she’ll be at all the home games this year.”

Higgins (heart) works out through the Cincinnati Bengals’ coaching camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields on July 29 in Cincinnati.Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Entering his first stretch with Under Armour, the drive to do extra on the sphere is backed by the will to offer extra off of it. Higgins is finding out the template Jefferson has set.

“Kind of how Justin did it going back home, I want to go back home and put on a camp,” Higgins mentioned. “I want to give back to the community I grew up in. Seeing how these guys work with Justin, whether it be T-shirts or shorts, anything helps.”

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He additionally cites Gunna as an Under Armor ambassador whose work he enjoys, noting he joined the rapper at considered one of his famed Wunna Run Club occasions on the Pro Bowl earlier this yr.

The skill to connect with the youth from a platform of success means a lot to Higgins, particularly as such alternatives had been restricted to him as a child in Oak Ridge.

“Tee shares our belief that sports are a powerful vehicle for creating opportunities and inspiring young people,” Evans mentioned. “He’s passionate about making a positive impact in the communities that helped shape him.”

Coming up, Higgins by no means ran routes with an All-Pro wideout or went jogging with a Platinum artist. Interactions with skilled athletes got here few and much between, so the one likelihood he did have — a basketball camp run by an abroad journeyman — caught with him.

“I always wanted to be in those guys’ shoes. Now that I am in those shoes, I want to give back,” Higgins mentioned.Under Armour

That expertise impressed him to share commerce secrets and techniques and recommendation with the subsequent era.

“I always wanted to be in those guys’ shoes,” Higgins mentioned. “Now that I am in those shoes, I want to give back to the younger kids and give them my knowledge.”

For the primary time in Higgins’ NFL profession, these sneakers at the moment are Under Armours, a partnership he hopes will help increase his influence past the sphere.

“I’m looking forward to helping out, whether it be my community back home or Cincinnati,” Higgins mentioned.

Ian Stonebrook is a tradition, sports activities, and music author based mostly in Austin, TX. For a intelligent second line, say what up or discover him on a basketball courtroom.