Three months after the 2025 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals and rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart have yet to agree to a contract — and the Bengals’ front office is clearly unhappy. Stewart, the No. 17 overall pick, left the Bengals’ minicamp in June over a contract dispute; in the month and a half since, the issue still hasn’t been resolved.
Bengals team owner Mike Brown did not mince words about the situation when speaking to reporters on Monday. Brown confirmed that the contract talks with Stewart were not finished, though he said there’s “really no reason why it shouldn’t be.”
“From our vantage point, it’s a form of foolishness. It just ought to get done,” Brown said, via WLWT Cincinnati.
Why is Shemar Stewart in a standoff with the Bengals?
Brown added that Stewart’s primary grievance was about guaranteed money — a trend for rookies this offseason. Stewart’s situation, though, is a little bit more complicated: The former Texas A&M DE is set to sign a four-year, $18.9 million contract as the No. 17 pick, based on the NFL’s rookie wage scale. But The Cincinnati Enquirer reported in June that the Bengals are reportedly trying to make the deal in a way that lets the team void future guaranteed money, setting a new precedent for rookie contracts.
Brown confirmed that on Monday, and said that those clauses would kick in if Stewart — or any of the other Bengals rookies — engaged in “conduct detrimental to football.”
“If we get a player who gets involved in something like that, or does something that is just unacceptable, guess what? I don’t wanna pay ’em. I really don’t. If he’s sitting in jail, I don’t think I oughta be paying him,” Brown said Monday, via Fox 19’s Joe Danneman.
Cincinnati is testing out the new contract term on its rookies this season. However, Stewart is just vocally pushing back against it.
“I’m 100 percent right,” Stewart said in June, via Sports Illustrated’s Jay Morrison. “I’m not asking for nothing y’all have never done before. But in y’all case, y’all just want to win arguments (more) than winning more games.”
On Monday, Brown seemed frustrated with Stewart’s stance.
“There is no dispute over the money. It’s just a dispute in his mind that I guess if he did something that really deserved punishment, that he would want the whole contract guaranteed,” Brown said.
Bengals GM Duke Tobin blames Shemar Stewart’s agent
General manager Duke Tobin also expressed his frustrations, but pointed blame toward Stewart’s representatives.
“I think Shemar needs to be here,” Tobin said, via The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. “I’m not going to blame Shemar. He is listening to the advice he is paying for. I don’t understand or believe or agree with the advice but I’m not the one paying for it.
“If I felt we were treating him unfairly as it relates to all the other draft picks in this year’s draft then maybe it would be a different story. But we are not. I don’t really understand where things are there.”
What’s next for Shemar Stewart?
The Bengals hold training camp on Tuesday, with every member of the team set to report. But since Stewart has yet to sign, he is not under any obligation with the team.
Even with the standoff, Stewart has continued working out on his own to prepare for the upcoming season, with Texas A&M coach Mike Elko confirming last week Stewart has been using the Aggies’ facilities.
However, despite some speculation that Stewart might try to re-join the Aggies, Elko said that Stewart has been working out by himself. Stewart used only three years of college eligibility to play with Texas A&M, but any attempt to re-join the team would likely require a lawsuit given that he waived his eligibility to enter the draft.
