The Cincinnati Bengals are still at a crossroads with first-round draft pick Shemar Stewart, per Pro Football Talk. The standoff between Stewart and the organizations stems from a clause in his contract.
Stewart’s agent, Zac Hiller, appeared on SiriusXM NFL Radio to address the situation.
“Obviously my job, and all agents’ job, is to protect the players,” Hiller said. “Simply put, Shemar would, of course, love for his contract to be as protective as the rest of his Bengals teammates in the past. And, simply put, the way the contract currently reads is not as protective.”
The issue relates to the team’s effort to change the language that would void future guarantees. They’re trying to foist more team-friendly terms on Stewart unilaterally, without making a corresponding concession.
“Contracts are based on precedent. So, when Shemar has never asked for anything more or less protective than any of his teammates, it’s a simple fix. It’s just say, ‘Hey, this is the precedent. Let’s keep the precedent.’”
Fans reacted to Hiller’s words on social media.
“He is about to cost himself a lot of money as time and compounding is at hand,” one fan predicted on Twitter.
“Cheapest, worst owner in pro sports. In a league that prints money. Unreal,” someone else wrote.
“Small market team and the CHEAPEST owner in NFL. Go back to college for a year and re-enter draft,” another fan added.
It’ll be interesting to see if the sides can resolve the situation before Bengals players report for training camp.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.