Stop me if you’ve heard this one: The Cincinnati Bengals and one of their star (potentially) players are in a contract dispute. The Bengals and their unsigned first-round pick Shemar Stewart are at an impasse, and it’s not over contract length or total money.
No, the Bengals have decided to dig in their heels on specific language that was not in last year’s first-round pick Amarius Mims‘ deal. Mims was the 18th-overall pick in 2024 and Stewart was No. 17 this year.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio thinks he has a “simple solution” to the problem.
“The Bengals nevertheless insist on changing the language in the contract offered to defensive end Shemar Stewart, the 17th overall pick in the 2025 draft,” Florio writes. “In other words, the Bengals have an established practice that they now want to change.
“Here’s how that works, in this context. To get the change they want, the Bengals need to offer some other change. It could be, for example, a minor change to the signing bonus payout schedule. It could be anything. Make a change to another term, and get the change they want.”
It clearly doesn’t sound like the Bengals want to offer those concessions considering the fact that not only is Stewart not signed, he also left mandatory minicamp on Thursday.
So, what’s the “simple solution?”
“At least one person within the organization has told an outsider that the Bengals believe the existing language does the trick,” Florio continues. “Which invites an obvious response: Drop the issue and use the language from the contract signed last year by tackle Amarius Mims, the 18th overall pick in the draft.”
The Bengals will be less ready for the start of the season
Last year, the Bengals were involved in negotiations with wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. He didn’t even know he’d be playing until right before Week 1, after he had engaged in a hold-in throughout training camp. Was he ready for the season opener? Not as ready as he could have been.
The Bengals missed the playoffs last year with a 9-8 record and they lost the opening game at home to the New England Patriots, who got one of their four wins that day. If the Bengals would have beaten the lowly Patriots they would have made the postseason.
Little things matter.
And now, just a few months before the 2025 NFL season begins, the Bengals will be entering Week 1 with a less-ready-than-he-could-have-been Shemar Stewart. And, he plays a position that is crucial to the Bengals success considering they had the 25th-ranked defense in the entire league last year.
The Bengals aren’t engaging in basic negotiating tactics
The Bengals clearly think that their stance is the right stance, and they don’t seem like they want to budge.
“The Bengals, put simply, want to make it clear that a default committed in any year of the contract wipes out all future guarantees,” Florio writes.
That’s fine, make it clear, but that’s not how negotiations work in life. If that’s something you want, you have to offer something in return. You give to get.
It works the same way in, say, the world of politics. A Senator may be firmly against a bill and then – gasp! – they suddenly change their opinion just days before a vote. They didn’t change their mind on the topic, they were offered something in return. That Senator will vote “yes” on XYZ bill and maybe they’ll get help on another bill that would directly help their constituents. It’s how things work in politics (and in the NFL) and anyone who watched “House of Cards” understands that.
Sure, it’s Hollywood, but the negotiation part is accurate. The part about the U.S. Senator shoving a reporter onto the train tracks? Yeah, that’s the Hollywood part.
Netflix references aside, the Bengals need to drop the tough-guy act and focus on getting players into the fold that can help them win games as soon as possible. Maybe let Stewart take some extra Gatorades home.
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