The Bengals have a type
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bengals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bengals</a> 1st-round pick DE Shemar Stewart isn’t participating in any on-field work until his contract is finalized — even with the standard injury waivers for rookies.<br><br>�� <a href="https://twitter.com/CalebNoeTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CalebNoeTV</a>)<br> <a href="https://t.co/Vs66F9h5Br">pic.twitter.com/Vs66F9h5Br</a></p>&mdash; Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) <a href="https://twitter.com/MySportsUpdate/status/1920927941539541236?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Not a good look at all for a guy that didn't produce anywhere near the level you'd expect for a top 25 pick.

Don't let the door hit you in the ass. /otter

Oddly enough, wouldn't on the field work be exactly what he should be willing to do?

He goes out there and blows a shoulder out working out on his own, he just has to eat that. But if he does it working with the Bengals, that triggers the rookie protections and he should get slot, etc...

So unless he's just sitting ass at the moment (which wouldn't be great), he'd be better served getting into the facility and getting his work in.

Hmm, so what are the “standard injury waivers”?

In Shemar's defense, why haven't the Bungholes finalized his rookie deal, yet? Should be affordable. Their owner being his cheap self, again?

Yea, I didn't think there was supposed to be anything to negotiate on rookie contracts anymore.

Is that not true?

Lots of rookie deals drag out. Are all of ours done?

Can’t blame him. The man saw the players having to cross the street on concrete in cleats just to get to the practice field. Also saw the QB have to cry to the media to force the owner to pay the best players.

He knows the owner is a cheap sumbitch. Wanting pen-to-paper before risking shit with this poverty franchise seems smart, injury waivers be damned.

I love this for them.

Nobody here would work their desk job without a deal in place.

Don’t blame this guy one bit.

I have.

I'm also an idiot.

Per Google AI:

Seems like vast majority of teams and players have no problem coming to an agreement pretty quickly on this stuff. Would be very on-brand for the Bengals to be pricks about it.

I'm beginning to wonder if draft day is a let down for them now

Yeah, I’m starting to get the sense that they settled on some of these guys.

Was wondering the same. Isn't the contract just is what it is anyways? I could be mistaken but I thought the salary was locked to what you draft pick was and the position might be factored into it or it's just the pick.

I think many of you are missing the point.

Many players remain unsigned and are still participating.

Two things can be true, the Bengals can be an organization that doesn't pay players shit and can't be trusted for shit and Shemar Stewart can be a bust waiting to happen without having his priorities straight

Exactly.

I'm with this.

Would you start work on a job without a contract?

Again, almost every other player that isn't under contract is still participating. There's a reason for that.

Gay? That’s their type. Just to be clear.

NTTIAWWT.

Bengals have some type of Aids.

If you keep peeling back the onion, you'll find at the heart, they're still the Bengals

So are you thinking he's just a lazy dickweed?

Sensing a pattern



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trey Hendrickson: &quot;No communication&quot; with Bengals on contract post draft<a href="https://t.co/QRCJvgX7nL">https://t.co/QRCJvgX7nL</a> <a href="https://t.co/FdAd1lUWzL">pic.twitter.com/FdAd1lUWzL</a></p>&mdash; Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/AroundTheNFL/status/1921994030121980337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Sorry pal they’ve got a cheaper defensive end that won’t sign. Hit the bricks.

I have read it is about guaranteed pay and when it is paid.
He wants money now.

Radio said bengals are notoriously cheap and.drag out payments.

Sure would suck if Hendrickson demanded a trade.

I’d be heartbroken.

Hendrickson on the open market is no bueno for Furious George contract

Maybe to a team like the Giants.

Man, I would absolutely hate that.

This is true, primarily.

There is a minimum active/inactive salary for players with zero credited seasons, then there is a maximum allocation based on draft-slot determined percentage of the league-wide rookie compensation pool.

There are some small exclusions, like minimum offseason workout incentives and community relations.

They have a little leeway to move some money up/down on player contracts, but they can't exceed the rookie pool allocation in the aggregate or at the individual level, and they can't go under the minimum in any year of the contract. Base salaries cannot increase by more than 25% from one year to the next.

Then there is the matter of guarantees. A rookie contract cannot be guaranteed for skill or injury or both in years 3 and 4 unless the entire contract is guaranteed for the same. Performance incentives can't be guaranteed at all. If the 5th year option is exercised for a 1st rounder, then his 4th year becomes guaranteed by default as does the 5th year.

On the guarantees, it circles back to what you have here...

Signing bonus payout schedules are a big hangup. Despite people thinking a player gets a "bag" up front, that's really not entirely the case. Sure, it's all guaranteed at signing, but they usually disperse it over a period of time because businesses do have to worry about, you know, cash flows and investment income.

Guarantee voids also factor in... They can absolutely write in voids of guarantees if a player does stupid shit. Let's say Rice had his contract guaranteed for years one and two, and he had a void clause, his 2nd year could have very well had the guarantees voided.

With offsets, any guaranteed money left to be paid on a deal if the rookie gets released at some point can be offset by the new deal he gets from another team, given that clause exists.

Stewart will probably bust but the Bengals absolutely deserve this for doing language ****ery with these injury waivers that 31 other teams aren't doing.

He's not the only draft pick holding out.

Every Bengals player, executive, coach, and fan should be in prison imho

Home Alone 4: escape from the Diddy White party.

Millions of people in this country are employed "at will". No contract. So yeah, millions of people go to work every day without being protected by a contract.

As we've discussed before, comparisons of NFL players to regular Joe's doesn't really work.

I wouldn't. The Bengals can eat a dick

I don't feel like typing out another reply, so i'll just copypasta what i put on the mothership.


Compared to other top EDs. The Bengals not only got Trey on a bargain basement FA contract, after he produced for them, they're now not willing to show him any love for their ROI. Even their extension last year was for less APY than any of the others, despite what he's done the last 2 years.

2nd contracts, APY, age when contract was signed, notes.
TJ Watt - $28MM (27 yrs old) extension coming
M Garrett - $25MM (25 yrs old) just extended/back loaded/3 void years/$40MM APY
D Hunter - $24.5MM (30 yrs old) 3rd contract (FA)
M Crosby - $23.5MM (25 yrs old) just extended/ 3yrs $35.5MM
T Hendrickson - $15MM (27 yrs old) (FA) / extended 1yr $21MM


Sacks since 2020 (and last 2 years)
TJ Watt - 54.5 (30.5 last 2 years)
M Garrett - 72.0 (28.0 last 2 years)
D Hunter - 45.0 (28.5 last 2 years)
M Crosby - 49.5 (22.0 last 2 years)
T Hendrickson - 70.5 (35.0 last 2 years)

They're simply tight-fisted penny-pinching skinflints who aren't willing to pay an older player, to show any kind of love or to say thanks for over producing because they don't want to take a chance on their ROI going in the tank. See; A Whitworth.

Add in the hypocrisy of asking for top return (because they feel that's what his worth is on the open market), while not being willing to pay top (not even near the top) money for the next couple years...because apparently he's not worth that, so what you have is a bunch of dim-witted jagoffs who don't know how to run an NFL franchise with the intent on winning a championship.

Trey Hendrickson planning to sit out if he doesn’t get paid. Your first rd pick sitting out.

Good luck with that Bengals!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bengals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bengals</a> DE Trey Hendrickson said he received a text from HC Zac Taylor 30 days before mandatory minicamp warning he’d be fined if he didn’t show up — something that frustrated him, especially given the poor communication from the team throughout the offseason.<br><br>Hendrickson also… <a href="https://t.co/VEJBYby0Il">pic.twitter.com/VEJBYby0Il</a></p>&mdash; Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) <a href="https://twitter.com/Schultz_Report/status/1922335381837775331?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Those pesky soft tissue issues gonna flare up

Rauchbag said copypasta time for clay to get horny!

Extend me or trade me

Well, bye

**** the bungholes. Any bad thing happening to them is good news for the rest of the planet.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

The only outcome I truly envision is the Lions or Bucs putting together a day 2 package of a 2nd in 2026 and a 2027 conditional 3rd or something along those lines. I find it doubtful anyone is giving up a 1st for a 30-year-old player that they have to extend for 3-4 years and give a 36m AAV deal to

Get him a cheese pizza just for him.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Yikes: Bengals 1st-round DE Shemar Stewart has decided to stay sidelined due to a disagreement over the contract language in his rookie deal as Phase 2 of offseason workouts begins today.<br><br>The Stewart holdout continues 😳 <a href="https://t.co/xkGtJQHPFo">pic.twitter.com/xkGtJQHPFo</a></p>&mdash; Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1924876559514570867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Loser behavior from a guy drafted to a loser franchise.

Seems like a great fit.

Defense is going to be softer than a post-Skyline session at Kohl's

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bengals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bengals</a> began OTAs today, but first-round pick Shemar Stewart still isn’t practicing as he and the team haven’t yet agreed on a contract. <a href="https://t.co/JF2F9aFg5d">pic.twitter.com/JF2F9aFg5d</a></p>&mdash; Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) <a href="https://twitter.com/MySportsUpdate/status/1927416597741817935?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I know Pat was only helping work out with WR prospects the past couple of seasons, but you bet your ass he would have told Veach if he had bad vibes about a guy and the capacity that prospect had for being a selfish douche. I don’t think Burrow is involved at all.

Anyway, that’s why you hire more than four ****ing people to run your draft.

It's also fair to ask if this isn't a Bengals problem as much as a Stewart problem.

There's a reason seemingly every person that plays for that organization has an issue with their contract.

And it's ALWAYS penny wise and pound foolish on the part of the Bengals.

Unfortunately I think we've kinda fallen into a similar trap a time or two. I think it happened with OBJr. It's happened with Smith. I think it kinda went that way with Bolton.

I'm terrified it'll happen with McDuffie because that would get SUPER expensive extremely fast.

It's just so rare that these guys get cheaper. If you can't get a deal done - trade 'em. This 'play them on the tag and hope things work out' approach just never works worth a damn.

OBJs dumb ass actually signed for much less than he turned down with us.

Apparently UChieffy is Shemar Stewart LMAO

Getting guys extensions has nothing to do with this, but it IS partly a Bengals problem, which is why I brought up having more than four people who do college scouting in your building.

We always cringe when scouts reportedly ask prospects some pretty ****ed up "Have you stopped having sex with your sister?" type of questions, but teams are going to do everything they can to make sure a player they draft in the first round doesn't pull this kind of BS. He's either getting super shitty advice from an agent or he's individualistic to the point of not being a team guy. Because that's exactly what this is -- Stewart is jeopardizing his own career (for reasons already discussed) and hurting the team who drafted him all because he's so goddamn determined not to be supposedly taken advantage of like all those other gullible rookies.

And I don't think that kind of selfishness just surprises a team that drafts you if that team did their homework. I think it manifests itself when you do your visits and interviews.

The funny thing is that I've never had a problem with those questions.

They may seem strange as hell to us on the outside, but they've spent a ****TON of money on any number of psychologists and what not who have formulated these questions for very specific reasons and I'm betting they end up having a lot more predictive effect than the whiny dickbags on Twitter want to acknowledge.

It's a job interview for one of the most lucrative, sought after and competitive jobs in the entire world. And it's a volunteer gig. Those teams should be able to ask whatever the hell they want.

Just seems like so few guys sign early these days, must be a player thing.

Agents know the cap is exploding every year and there is no incentive for high draft picks to sign early. For instance, what motivation does McDuffie have to sign early? He will have 10m in the bank and he’s seen the top corner go from 24m per a year or so ago, to 25m for Surtain all the way up to 30m AAV for Stingley recently.

He’s a multi year all pro on a rookie deal. Unless KC offers a 5 year 150m extention with historic guarantees, what motivation does he have to sign early?

Also, from the teams perspective that have 5th year option and 2 tags…so it wouldn’t make sense in respect to the cap to extend him early and losing the advantage of the rookie contract and tags.

And of course the agents want the biggest commision checks possible and to be known as getting top dollar for their clients to attract new clients with their track record in negotiations.

I've heard a couple talking heads ramble about the language in the Bengal's contract being different than the majority of the league. Of course, none of them actually spell it out word for word to explain it to us, but if that's the case it would explain why this one particular dumpster fire continues to have these kinds of issues with players who the league has intentionally made easy to sign.

Look here, kid. The Bengals recently hired a couple people in their scouting department.

Grok: The Cincinnati Bengals structure their rookie contract offsets differently from most NFL teams by attempting to include clauses that allow them to void guarantees under specific conditions, such as revoking guaranteed money for players on rookie contracts, which deviates from the league standard where first-round contracts are typically fully guaranteed without such contingencies. This year, their first-round pick, Shemar Stewart (selected 17th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft), hasn’t signed his contract due to this issue, as the Bengals are reportedly pushing for language that could reduce their financial obligation if Stewart is released and signs elsewhere, a practice less common across the league where teams generally accept full guarantees without offsets for top picks. Posts on X indicate sentiment that the Bengals’ front office is trying to set a precedent by altering standard rookie contract language, potentially to gain more flexibility, which has led to delays as Stewart and his representatives resist these terms, preferring the more player-friendly offset structures seenlisten to the podcast episode titled “The Bengals and the NFL Draft” for more insights into their draft strategy.