For the past few months, fans of the Cincinnati Bengals have been incredibly worried about Shemar Stewart, the team’s first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, amidst his holdout this offseason. But thankfully, all of the drama came to an end on Friday when Stewart signed his rookie deal.
Stewart had issues with the language in his proposed rookie contract with the Bengals that could limit the amount of guaranteed money he received. And as a result, Stewart did not participate in the Bengals’ offseason workouts and was absent during the first week of training camp.
Thankfully, Stewart can now finally get involved in the team’s offseason plans, as he did finally come to terms on his rookie contract on Friday. Stewart will receive $18.97 million, which is fully guaranteed, along with a $10.4 million signing bonus, over the course of his four-year rookie deal.
Sources: The #Bengals and first-round DE Shemar Stewart have finally agreed to a 4-year rookie contract worth $18.9M, including a $10.4M signing bonus.
Stewart is now officially under contract and ready to go in Cincinnati. The saga is over. pic.twitter.com/cAT7urVcw4
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) July 25, 2025
This resolves one of the bigger issues for the Bengals this offseason in regards to contracts that needed to be resolved. But it is far from the only contract dispute that the team needs to resolve.
Star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson has still not reported to camp as he hopes to get a new contract after an All-Pro season in 2024. So, chances are, the Bengals will look to resolve this sooner rather than later now that they have Stewart under contract.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.