Another day and another commentary on the ongoing contract standoff between the Cincinnati Bengals and defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Stop me if you’re heard this one.
The two sides aren’t seeing eye to eye.
The latest, according to ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter, is that the guaranteed money is still a problem.
“The deal is in place for Trey Hendrickson and the Bengals but there’s a disagreement over the guaranteed money,” Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday. “… It’s a big disagreement so far.”
Adam Schefter says the gap between the Bengals and Hendrickson is about $10 million
Billy Heyen of the Sporting News goes on to sum up Schefter’s take on the seemingly non-stop drama in Cincinnati.
“Schefter goes on to say that it could be as much as a $10 million gap between Cincinnati and its star pass rusher,” Heyen writes. “The problem, Schefter explains, is the Bengals historically do not guarantee money beyond the first year of a contract. They made an exception on that for both Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, but they don’t want to do so for Hendrickson.”
The Bengals are gonna Bengal. They did finally cave to their first-round pick, edge rusher Shemar Stewart who seemed to be in an even more ridiculous situation with the team than Hendrickson. So, maybe the Brown family is willing to turn over a new leaf? I’m joking of course.
The Bengals have a history of issues with contract negotiations
The Hendrickson situation is nothing new for Cincinnati. Football Analysis put together a list of recent Bengals contract problems (titled “The Bengals Recent History of Awkward Contract Negotiations“) and the first four are from the 2025 offseason alone! They have to be setting some sort of records that no one wants.
Here are just a few of the previous problems:
Who can forget Carson Palmer?:
“Before the Bengals’ current run of awkward contract negotiations, Cincinnati dealt with a complicated issue involving quarterback Carson Palmer in 2010,” Aaron Sauter writes. “When Palmer signed his first contract with the Bengals, it contained a “Loyalty Clause” that stated that if Palmer publicly criticized the Bengals organization, they would be able to void his contract. After the 2010 season, Palmer demanded that the Bengals trade him, citing his opinion that Cincinnati was not committed to building a winning team.”
How unintentionally hilarious is a “loyalty clause?”
Andrew Whitworth went on to win a Super Bowl:
“In 2014, the Cincinnati Bengals and offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth engaged in contract negotiations,” Sauter writes. “The 35-year-old offensive tackle wanted the Bengals to sign him to a long-term contract, which the Bengals did not want to do due to Whitworth’s age. Cincinnati did make an offer for 1 year for $10 million, but the contract offer did not provide the long-term security that Whitworth was looking for from the Bengals.”
Whitworth won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. It’s understandable that they would be reticent to sign a 35-year old, but he had more in the tank than they expected.
The Andre Smith situation played out on HBO’s Hard Knocks:
“The Bengals also had a tense contract dispute with offensive tackle Andre Smith, a first-round draft pick, in 2009,” Sauter writes. “Negotiations were more complicated than in the current rookie pay scale model because it was an open negotiation without any restrictions that currently exist. Smith’s primary conflict involved a “Weight Clause” that the Bengals included in his offer. The clause established standards for weight and health that Smith needed to meet to avoid being penalized.”
A weight clause, huh? The Bengals seem to love their clauses and any “outs” they might have to avoid actually paying a player at some point. Even the Arizona Cardinals removed the video game clause from Kyler Murray‘s extension back in 2022, but maybe it says something when you feel like you have to put it in there.
Back to Hendrickson, it doesn’t sound like there will be a ton of movement any time soon. It’s something we’ll all continue to monitor, meaning we’ll wait for Adam Schefter’s next tweet.
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