On Friday, after a lengthy holdout, the Cincinnati Bengals and rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart were able to come to a compromise on contract language and money. This means the last of the 2025 NFL draft class is finally signed and can report to training camp and get to work.
The divide between Stewart and the Bengals was related to language Cincinnati wanted in the contract that would allow them to void future guarantees, and to get that, they bumped up Stewart’s guaranteed money by around $500,000. The full four-year contract is fully guaranteed at $18.97 million, with $10.4 million of that coming as a signing bonus.
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Stewart returned to Texas A&M during his holdout and was actually working out with his old college team. We wondered if Stewart might consider just returning to college for 2025, but the way the NFL works, his rights would still belong to the Bengals upon his return, so it’s good the two sides were able to come to an agreement.
The Bengals selected Stewart No. 17 overall in the 2025 NFL draft, and make no mistake, the pick was a risk, even before this contract snafu. Stewart was drafted based on potential, not production and he’s got plenty of catching up to do.
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: Bengals rookie DE Shemar Stewart signs rookie contract