We don’t usually see a rookie in a contract standoff with the franchise that drafted him just over a month ago. But that’s the unusual case with the Bengals’ DE Shemar Stewart, who is not participating in mandatory minicamp practices due to a clause that could jeopardize the remaining guarantees in his deal.
Advertisement
So, what’s the holdup? As per reports, Stewart’s rookie contract proposed by the Bengals included wording that suggested that “a default in his current year could trigger a default in all remaining years.” And because of this, Stewart remains one of the only four first-rounders in 2025 who are yet to sign a contract.
Explaining the situation in layman’s terms, Shannon Sharpe expressed, “So let’s just say, in my rookie year, I do something… the NFL suspends me. Not only can they take the money back that first year, but year two, year three, year four, they get that guaranteed money too. Oh hell no.”
Adding to this, Chad Johnson stated that he is unaware of what the Bengals found out about Stewart’s past that motivated them to add this clause, and neither is he aware of whether it’s now a norm in contracts around the league. Even then, he added that instead of deeming the entire guaranteed sum void, they should approach it on a year-to-year basis.
“Don’t allow [the clause] to default money from years down the road. Allow it to be a year-to-year thing,” he said (via Nightcap).
Which means, in case of a mishap, the Bengals should hold the right to default that year’s money but leave his future salary untouched. Unless, of course, there’s another issue in a later year.
This holdout, in all fairness, puts a big pause on the dreams that the young defensive end has. But if both parties refuse to come to terms, Stewart still has the option to either become a free agent for other teams to sign him or go back to college to further build his draft stock for next year. It’s quite a dilemma.
And that’s exactly why Johnson expressed his frustration with his former team penny-pinching every player looking for a payday. He called it nothing but a distraction to the club and its players, pointing out how they did the same with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins last season — and now with Trey Hendrickson.
“A little birdie told me that they (Bengals) had some wording and verbiage in Chase and Tee Higgins’ contract that they held it up just a tad bit,” said Ocho. “But you got ‘Oh hell no. No, not us.’ So this was lingering a little bit. But because they are who they are, they were able to get that… So now we talk about a rookie who has yet to prove himself.”
With each passing day, Stewart is losing valuable time to build relationships and make his case for a spot on the roster before the season begins. And unfortunately, the Bengals appear to be taking advantage of that urgency. Do you agree?
