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Shemar Stewart and the Cincinnati Bengals are still in a standoff regarding his rookie contract with training camp underway. Reports indicate that some of the verbiage within the contract is holding things up, as Stewart and his agent won’t sign before it is removed. On Monday, team owner Mike Brown revealed his blunt reason for not budging in the negotiations.
It’s said that the 21-year-old edge rusher and his agent are disputing a clause that would allow the Bengals to void guaranteed money in his rookie deal. The clause in the contract that claims that guaranteed money can be voided if Shemar Stewart gets into off-the-field trouble. Brown made it clear that he wouldn’t want to pay any player if they get into legal trouble, according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team.
“If we get a player who does something unacceptable, guess what? I don’t want to pay him. I really don’t. If he’s sitting in jail, I don’t think I have to pay him.”
#Bengals owner Mike Brown explaining the Shemar Stewart contract language situation:
“If we get a player who does something unacceptable, guess what? I don’t want to pay him. I really don’t. If he’s sitting in jail, I don’t think I have to pay him.” pic.twitter.com/3Ta39gFPtT https://t.co/swpP95IBM9
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 21, 2025
Typically, players and agents don’t dispute these issues with teams in their rookie contracts. However, Shemar Stewart is not the only player in league history to do so. The last time a player objected to this type of language in a contract came in 2018 when linebacker Roquan Smith refused to sign his rookie deal, as the clause claimed the Chicago Bears could void his guaranteed money if he were suspended for a certain number of games.
Smith missed the first two weeks of training camp that offseason, but eventually signed after his agent and the Bears agreed on a different number of suspended games to trigger the voiding.
For Shemar Stewart, it is currently unclear if and when this contract dispute will end. The Bengals don’t seem to want to budge whatsoever, while Stewart seems more than fine to sit out the entire 2025-26 campaign.
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