The Cincinnati Bengals and first-round draft pick Shemar Stewart are mired in a pretty nice contract holdout. The Bengals would have the edge if experience in this area was the only criteria; they do this stuff constantly. But, Stewart seems to be weighing his options and, based on a report from CBS Sports’ Bud Elliott, one of them could be returning to Texas A&M and re-entering the NFL Draft in 2026.
“It may not be legal yet, but then again, everything in the NCAA is subject to litigation,” Elliott said. “I didn’t know you could do this. I knew you could do this in baseball… I don’t know why you could do it in baseball but not football. You probably have to go to court.”
As with most stories that involve contracts and legalities, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio is on top of it to unpack it for us.
“The first part of what Elliott said is generally accurate,” Florio writes. “Stewart has been working out at Texas A&M. (He’s not “practicing” with the team, we’re told. Then again, fall practice has yet to begin.) Part of the second part isn’t accurate; if Stewart returns to school for 2025, the Bengals would continue to hold his rights through the first draft after Stewart’s eligibility expires.
“Yes, NCAA rules would prevent a return, now that Stewart has been drafted. But many NCAA rules have failed under the weight of the federal antitrust laws. Why shouldn’t a player who has never taken an NFL paycheck or signed an NFL contract be prevented from going back to school?”
Does the CBA allow a drafted player to return to school?
There seems to be some discrepancy as to what exactly would happen if Stewart were to return to the NCAA. Is it even allowed? While some NIL rules have muddied the waters, it used to be that if a player even signed with an agent they were immediately disqualified from NCAA eligibility.
Just ask Bo Jackson, who was barred from playing baseball at Auburn after he visited with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prior to the 1986 NFL Draft. Ever wonder why he refused to play for them when they took him No. 1 overall that year? That’s why. And it’s not even the same sport for crying out loud.
“Somewhat surprisingly, the CBA contemplates the possibility that a drafted player will instead go back to college,” Florio continues. “Here’s the language, from Article 6, Section 6: “If any college football player who becomes eligible for the Draft prior to exhausting his college football eligibility through participation is drafted by an NFL Club, and returns to college, the drafting Club’s exclusive right to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with such player shall continue through the date of the Draft that follows the last season in which the player was eligible to participate in college football, and thereafter the player shall be treated and the Club shall have such exclusive rights as if he were drafted in such Draft by such Club (or assignee Club).
“In English, this means that, if Stewart returns to college football in 2025, he’d be treated as a draft pick of the Bengals in 2026. Which means that he wouldn’t be permitted to re-enter the draft next year.”
Stewart is “dug in” on this holdout
Stewart’s holdout and frustrations with the Bengals have led him to lash out at the team’s management/ownership and even walk out on mandatory minicamps last month.
Recently, ESPN’s Adam Schefter did not paint a positive picture of his contract situation.
“I think he’s dug in on the language,” Schefter said. “He doesn’t want to be the first one and be made an example of. The Bengals haven’t had this language before. Other teams have had it, but the Bengals haven’t, and he doesn’t want to be the guy. He seems unwilling to budge.”
Whether or not a return to college is in the cards remains to be seen. It’s not known if that would be allowed and it’s also uncertain what a return to the NFL would look like.
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