Bengals First Round Pick Shemar Stewart Wins Contract Dispute, Finally Signs Deal

The Cincinnati Bengals have finally signed first round pick Shemar Stewart after testy contract hold out.

According to an Adam Schefter tweet that went out at 6:30 PM Friday night, “Shemar Stewart and the Cincinnati Bengals reached agreement on a four-year, fully guaranteed $18.97 million contract that includes a $10.4 million signing bonus, per his agent Zac Hiller.”

Stewart was the last of the league’s 32 first round picks to sign his contract after a dispute with ownership over language used in the agreement.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the rookie won the dispute and received the terms he was fighting for.

“After a lengthy standoff over contract language, Stewart got improved payout language can now get on the field,” Pelissero’s X post read.

Pelissero’s NFL Network coworker Ian Rappaport reported that both party’s compromised in the negotiations.

“To get Shemar Stewart on the field, both sides compromised. — Stewart agreed to Cincy’s new language. — The #Bengals moved $500K of Stewart’s signing bonus up and paid up front, rather than pay it December,” Rappaport posted. 

Full Recap Of Contract ‘Negotiations’

Stewart’s only concern lied in some unprecedented language used within the rookie contract that messed with the first round pick’s signing bonus.

Thanks to NFL regulations, all rookie contracts are signed at a fixed price point and entirely guaranteed to the players. However, the Bengals were attempting to change the ways the guarantees were paid.

It is not uncommon for team’s to use the verbiage the Bengals were proposing, however, Stewart would have been the first Cincinnati player to sign a contract in this fashion. His demands were simple, he just wanted the same contract every other Bengal before him was given.

The negotiations turned ugly when Stewart went public with his displeasure with the owner.

“In my case, I’m 100% right,” Stewart told ESPN in the first week of June after deciding to leave mandatory mini-camp. “I’m not asking for nothing that’s never been done before. In [the team’s case], y’all just want to win an argument instead of winning more games, in my opinion.”

“We all agree Trey is right, right?” Stewart continued in June. “But, technically he’s still 1% wrong, for being under contract. I’m 100% right so it should be a no-brainer. In Trey’s case, I think it should be a no-brainer too. I mean, he had 17 sacks for two years back to back…”

Owner Mike Brown Makes Headlines With Insults Last Week

Around this time last week fans would’ve thought there was no way Stewart was putting pen to paper with the Bengals this year. Rumors began circulating that the defensive end was back at his alma mater of Texas A&M preparing to make a comeback to college football.

Among it all, owner Mike Brown poured oil on the fire with his comments about the first round pick’s holdout.

“From our vantage point, it is a form of foolishness for this not to get done,” Brown said of Stewart.

“I don’t want to pay somebody who, hypothetically, could be in jail for four years at this level of pay. Do I think any of that is going to happen? No.”

Brown cleared up that he believes Stewart is a “good young guy” and would never find himself in that situation. However, optics matter when you are the owner of an NFL team, and giving the media headlines like this about your future quarterback sacker is never the right choice.