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Contrary to popular belief, the Cincinnati Bengals are not wrong in their contract dispute with Shemar Stewart.\u00a0Bengals fans and the media keep attributing the standoff to the team’s penny-pinching front office. It is not. The national media narrative is wrong and escalating out of control.<\/p>\n
Stewart and his reps don\u2019t want the same contract language as the No. 16 and No. 18 overall picks. The Texas A&M product was selected No. 17 overall. They want the clauses from Bengals\u2019 past first-round picks, while getting paid more than Cincinnati\u2019s recent first-round selections.<\/p>\n
Stewart and his representatives don\u2019t want the same contract language as Abdul Carter, who was picked No. 3 overall (!) and plays the same position.<\/p>\n
As no one will let you forget this offseason, the Bengals are a \u201cmom and pop\u201d franchise. They are cheap and don\u2019t have a lot of money. Therefore, they should be made fun of. However, that narrative is not playing as well within Bengaldom as it does outside the Jungle walls.<\/p>\n
Stewart is not getting support from the Bengals\u2019 fan base. They know when Cincinnati is being cheap. And this ain\u2019t that.<\/p>\n
Speaking of reputations, Cincinnati\u2019s fan base was not overly enthusiastic about Stewart being the pick in the first place. A pass rusher with lackluster sack output in college is not what fans expected as the Bengals search to improve their defense. But that is less about the player and more about the scouting department.<\/p>\n
Zac Hiller and LAA Sports and Entertainment represent Stewart. The young agents probably only know the Bengals through their cheap reputation. And they are using it to try to bully the team into submission. But they are also using that unflattering rhetoric to gaslight their client, as the kids would say.<\/p>\n
Stewart doesn\u2019t have much support from inside the locker room, if any. He and Trey Hendrickson are not the same. Do not expect Hendrickson, Joe Burrow, Ja\u2019Marr Chase, or Tee Higgins to throw their support behind Stewart in this conflict.<\/p>\n
There isn\u2019t public support coming from other agents because their clients\u2019 contracts have the clause that Stewart\u2019s reps are fighting against. That includes Drew Rosenhaus, who is the agent for the New York Giants\u2019 third-overall pick, Abdul Carter.<\/p>\n
The support he does have comes only from a very loud national audience, such as Craig Carton, Mark Schlereth, or Pat McAfee, who continue to play the same note: that the Bengals’ front office is cheap and behind the times. That should not play well this offseason after all the deals they made. Yet, for some reason, it does.<\/p>\n
Last week, we learned from\u00a0Craig Carton and the “Breakfast Ball” crew on FS1\u00a0that Stewart\u2019s dad asked if his son could get traded.<\/p>\n
\n.@craigcartonlive<\/a> says Shemar Stewart\u2019s dad went to his son\u2019s agent amid the Bengals\u2019 contract dispute and asked:<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we get him traded? Is that on the table?"\ud83d\ude33@markschlereth<\/a> | @craigcartonlive<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/1rLUvqmSry<\/a><\/p>\n
— Breakfast Ball (@BrkfstBallOnFS1) June 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n