2:38pm: The latest round of negotiations between Hendrickson and the Bengals has proven to be “very contentious,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports. He adds Monday’s talks did not yield progress, and it remains to be seen at this point when communication between the parties will open again. A lengthy holdout could very well be in store.
9:49am: Trey Hendrickson has long loomed as a candidate to skip the start of training camp. With the Bengals preparing to begin padded practices, the reigning sack leader is indeed absent. 
Hendrickson informed ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday that he has elected to hold out from training camp. As a result, he will begin accruing mandatory daily fines while extension talks continue. Owner Mike Brown struck an optimistic tone yesterday when speaking to the media about the Hendrickson situation. For at least the time being, however, this stalemate will continue.
A native of Orlando, Hendrickson posted on Instagram that he has returned to Florida in the absence of an agreement. The 30-year-old has maintained since the spring that he is prepared to not only hold out of training camp but into the regular season if no extension is worked out. Several weeks remain to see if that will end up taking place, but today’s expected update is another indication this situation is not in a good place. To date, the Bengals have yet to offer a deal in the $35MM-per-year range and the team’s preference is to add one year to Hendrickson’s current pact.
Of course, guarantees are a key sticking point in negotiations. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports Cincinnati is willing to authorize a multi-year pact which includes a “substantial raise” compared to the $16MM Hendrickson is currently owed for 2025 (video link). The issue, to no surprise, is the four-time Pro Bowler’s desire to secure guarantees for 2026 “and beyond” and thus match what a number of other edge rushers have received on that front this offseason with their new deals. T.J. Watt is the most recent pass rusher to reset the market, and his new Steelers pact includes $108MM fully guaranteed along with a record-breaking cashflow for non-quarterbacks.
It would come as a major surprise if Hendrickson were to match Watt in terms of base or locked in earnings on his next pact. Nevertheless, an increase in guarantees will likely be needed to get a deal done. During today’s episode of Good Morning Football, Manti Te’o said he has spoken with Hendrickson, who described the Bengals’ offers regarding guaranteed money as “atrociously, atrociously low” (h/t Rapoport’s colleague Tom Pelissero).
The Bengals are certainly no stranger to contract drama leading up to the regular season. Tension with the likes of Joe Mixon, Jessie Bates, Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase over the past several years have created uncertainty about those players’ availability in time for Week 1. That will also be the case for Hendrickson unless a breakthrough can be made.
Team guys are the best!!
In four seasons, he’s given the Bengals 65 games, 57 sacks (more than anyone but Garrett of Watt), and four Pro Bowl appearances, and made a total of under $65 million. The guy has given the team a huge amount of surplus value. Maybe the team should occasionally take care of its best players without being forced into it.
TJ Watt said it best. How can you fight on the field for an owner that could care less?
That team won’t make the playoffs without him. They’ll be giving up 40 PPG.
The common denominator here is the organization not the player. But sure carry some more water for awful team management. Nothing like alienating the employees for a dollar.
Ain’t my team so I could care less. It seems as though the AFC North is like the Kardashians. Drama.
Ridiculous take.
Morals clause covers what the owner talked about
I agree with Henderson that guarantees are important and I understand his reasons for wanting them, but it seems like both sides are making this much more contentious than it has to be. Of course, I don’t get why anyone involved in negotiations feels the need to give sound bites to reporters, either.
On one hand, Hendrickson is still on a contract, so there is some element of “honoring your deal” that plays in here. Hendrickson is smart, though. He’s made enough that he doesn’t necessarily need the money. More importantly, the Stewart standoff and the fact that Hubbard is gone puts Cincinnati in a bad spot on the edge. He’s got more leverage now than he would have otherwise, and his play has been up there with the highest paid players at his position. If we buy into the “deserves to be paid” idea, he’s certainly done so.
I’m not sure why Cincy would willingly play with fire and stiff arm him into not getting more guaranteed money on, say, a three year deal. They’re not exactly in a good spot right now edge-wise, and he’s been all they wanted and then some as a player.
Posturing with sound bites has become an art form that probably doesn’t get the respect due it. Both sides in a negotiation want to have public sentiment in their favor.
Pay Trey! Okay
Pay Joe! Okay.
Pay Ja’Maar! Okay.
Pay Tee! Okay
Pay Trey more!
Nothing easier than spending someone else’s money.
They kicked the can down the road with Hendrickson. They’re down the road now. They could have traded him if they didn’t want to pay him remotely close to a competitive market rate.
If you find it financially burdensome to pay a top five quarterback and one of the elite wide receiver tandems in football, maybe you shouldn’t own an NFL team.
As a Bills fan – you love to see it.
The Bengals have one of the smaller ownership revenue bases in the NFL. The Brown family isn’t by any means poor, but they don’t have unlimited funds either. In that sense they’re similar to the Rooneys in Pittsburgh. Even with a salary cap, when you’re looking at longer term deals you have to budget wisely.
So if you’re in that situation, and you know that you have to spend maybe a little more wisely than the next team, the LAST thing you should be doing are any of the following: waiti mg until the metaphorical last minute to start extension negotiations with your best players; conducting some of those negotiations in the media; drawing lines in the sand, but especially not drawing lines in the sand for some players, but then making exceptions for others. The Bengals routinely do all of these.
As a comparative example: Say what you will about the TJ Watt contract, but how many sound bites did you get from either side during talks? (Next to none, it was mostly speculation after speculation).
The Steelers are far from perfect, but they are usually consistent with policies and open in their communication with players. The Bengals rarely are either, and that might be why they’re having issues now.
CIN contract language recently changed.
100% reported.
My deal is
Dozens of articles that the new language is just updated to what every other teams is doing anyway. CiN is just finally adapting.
But then the majority of articles, paints the updated contract language as unexpected, rare, vague, cheap.
What is the reality. I hate repeated agent talk, almost as much as I hate front office spin.