Is Shemar holding out?

[TecmoBengals]

(Yesterday, 09:14 AM)Millhouse Wrote: Is this one of those rare situations where it is ok to not like how both the player and the franchise are handling all of this?

Nope. We live in a world where you have to be either/or. Two things cannot be true. You must be on the left or the right and have extreme opinions.

[TJ528]

(06-12-2025, 07:44 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: Other teams have used it. The only reason I don't necessarily like the Bengals using it is i worry if they are trying to limit a players leverage with it. 
I'm with you on Stewart though. Its one thing for Trey or other guys to talk to the media. But for a rookie who's only been dealing with the team for a few months to talk to the media like he was doesnt fill me with confidence for the player. Also leaving at this point seems like a bad move although that mightve come from multiple places after his media talk.

I personally feel the way he spoke to the media about the organization, probably did himself no favors with the organization nor the coaching staff.  It shows immaturity.  It shows IMO a reason why the organization wants to start putting the clause into the contracts.  It's also crazy to me there's a total of 40 players from the 2025 draft that are currently unsigned by their teams.  1...1 player has sat out all of the team organized activities, and practices and his name is Shamar.  

This dude has 2 choices...one sign a multi-million dollar contract with the Bengals after being drafted #17 or take your chances and go back into the 2026 NFL Draft and hope you get picked in the 1st round again.  Chance are he drops to the 2nd or 3rd round.  Is there any guarantee other teams aren't going to put this clause into a contract?  

I get temper tantrums but not from a 21 yo professional athlete. 

[*Nately120*]

(Yesterday, 09:47 AM)TecmoBengals Wrote: Nope. We live in a world where you have to be either/or. Two things cannot be true. You must be on the left or the right and have extreme opinions.

The only reason this pain in the ass and his pain in the ass father are here to be pains in the ass is because this organization drafted him and then decided to present him with a a new contract stipulation. 

Sure, he's a pain but the organization is driving this sloppy jalopy. 

[TecmoBengals]

(Yesterday, 11:14 AM)Nately120 Wrote: Sure, he's a pain but the organization is driving this sloppy jalopy. 

That is ultimately my opinion because for as long as I've been a fan, I've watched the Brown family take the difficult path when negotiating with players.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(06-12-2025, 06:45 PM)Wyche Wrote: It's a clause so the team has an out if the player is a knucklehead. Apparently other teams use it, it's just the first time the Bengals have used it. 

I don't know what to make of all of this, but leaving camp wasn't a good look for me. I'm not necessarily siding with the FO, but this steaming pile of dog shit is now drawing flies.....and Stewart is getting just as stinky as Son of Paul. If he does wind up signing, he better come out like his hair is on fire when the season starts. I'm quickly souring on him. 

I getcha Wyche. Stewart wasn't supposed to be a character concern before we drafted him though. This clause seems to have pushed him into
being one, cause yeah, even I am souring on him from what he said and him leaving on the last day of mandatories. I like the player, he has all 
the intangibles that you cannot teach up. But can you teach up a knucklehead is the question?

I thought James Pearce and Mike Green were the character concerns, at least that was their knock. Why Draft Stewart if he is one as well?

[TJ528]

(Yesterday, 12:46 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: I getcha Wyche. Stewart wasn't supposed to be a character concern before we drafted him though. This clause seems to have pushed him into
being one, cause yeah, even I am souring on him from what he said and him leaving on the last day of mandatories. I like the player, he has all 
the intangibles that you cannot teach up. But can you teach up a knucklehead is the question?

I thought James Pearce and Mike Green were the character concerns, at least that was their knock. Why Draft Stewart if he is one as well?

Nate, I personally think this has to do with future 1st round draft picks more so than Shamar.  

I think you're gonna find this NIL and the new salary cap in college football will create more headaches than it solves.  

I think you'll get more character flawed players going forward because they arent playing for NFL $$$ anymore.  They're getting that money in college football. 

Again, JMO but i see this more as a future protection than saying Shamar's got issues.  However, the way he talked this week makes me wonder if he's gonna be a headache all 4 years he can be in Cincinnati. 

[*bfine32*]

Shemur not being signed is not what is making this National news. Him not signing a practice waiver for mandatory camp is.

I just listened to the Jags GM rave about how good Hunter looked on both sides of the ball during camp this week. He's not signed.

[TJ528]

(Yesterday, 01:55 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Shemur not being signed is not what is making this National news. Him not signing a practice waiver for mandatory camp is.

I just listened to the Jags GM rave about how good Hunter looked on both sides of the ball during camp this week. He's not signed.

bfine32 

That's my whole issue with the entire thing.  Shamar can blame the organization all he wants, however, out of 40 NFL draft picks he's the only 1 that hasnt practiced.  

That's on him and his representation.  I liked the pick initially.  Maybe there are some character issues to worry about now that these warts are showing. 

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(Yesterday, 01:37 PM)TJ528 Wrote: Nate, I personally think this has to do with future 1st round draft picks more so than Shamar.  

I think you're gonna find this NIL and the new salary cap in college football will create more headaches than it solves.  

I think you'll get more character flawed players going forward because they arent playing for NFL $$$ anymore.  They're getting that money in college football. 

Again, JMO but i see this more as a future protection than saying Shamar's got issues.  However, the way he talked this week makes me wonder if he's gonna be a headache all 4 years he can be in Cincinnati. 

All good points TJ528. I don't like college football players getting paid either, at least not a ton. They are still kids honestly and it is a bias
rewarding athletes over regular college students. You could be right about this being more about the future than just Shemar, but like you 
said it wasn't a good look for him talking as much as he did.

Before this, I thought his character was good. Now I don't know. Hopefully he just made a mistake and will learn from it and be a classy 
pro from here on out.

(Yesterday, 01:55 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Shemur not being signed is not what is making this National news. Him not signing a practice waiver for mandatory camp is.

I just listened to the Jags GM rave about how good Hunter looked on both sides of the ball during camp this week. He's not signed.

Good on Travis Hunter, he doesn't care about getting injured I guess. Just a baller even when he isn't signed.

[TJ528]

(Yesterday, 02:39 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: All good points TJ528. I don't like college football players getting paid either, at least not a ton. They are still kids honestly and it is a bias
rewarding athletes over regular college students. You could be right about this being more about the future than just Shemar, but like you 
said it wasn't a good look for him talking as much as he did.

Before this, I thought his character was good. Now I don't know. Hopefully he just made a mistake and will learn from it and be a classy 
pro from here on out.



Good on Travis Hunter, he doesn't care about getting injured I guess. Just a baller even when he isn't signed.

I won't lie, I wasn't a fan of Travis Hunter in college. I thought he was overrated.  

However, coming into camp, and not bitching and complaining and acting like a 12 yo makes me respect the young man more. 

Go out there earn what you're gonna get paid.  Contract will eventually take care of itself because you have 2 options. Sign the contract or play the game of risk and hope you're drafted as high in the NFL 2026 draft.  Although, my guess is he would have "character flawed" associated with his name going into the 2026 NFL Draft. 

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(Yesterday, 02:44 PM)TJ528 Wrote: I won't lie, I wasn't a fan of Travis Hunter in college. I thought he was overrated.  

However, coming into camp, and not bitching and complaining and acting like a 12 yo makes me respect the young man more. 

Go out there earn what you're gonna get paid.  Contract will eventually take care of itself because you have 2 options. Sign the contract or play the game of risk and hope you're drafted as high in the NFL 2026 draft.  Although, my guess is he would have "character flawed" associated with his name going into the 2026 NFL Draft. 

Felt the same way on Hunter and I think he will be exposed in the NFL as a rookie, but I sure like how he is handling not being signed, unlike Shemar.

[RunKijanaRun]

To have all the physical gifts he does and only record 4.5 sacks in his entire college career tells you he’s got some pistons that aren’t firing.

We’ve made a lot of dumb first round picks. He’s already positioning himself well to be among the worst of those.

[TJ528]

(Yesterday, 03:07 PM)RunKijanaRun Wrote: To have all the physical gifts he does and only record 4.5 sacks in his entire college career tells you he’s got some pistons that aren’t firing.

We’ve made a lot of dumb first round picks. He’s already positioning himself well to be among the worst of those.

I mean on a positive at least they got the Mim's pick at 17 right last year lol  I guess a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes. 

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(Yesterday, 02:39 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: I don't like college football players getting paid either, at least not a ton. They are still kids honestly and it is a bias rewarding athletes over regular college students.

Hell yeah! Hurray unpaid labor in a billion dollar business like the game was meant to be! 

- - - - - - -

The bias was them NOT being allowed to get paid. Every other college student could get a job and accept money for their NIL except for athletes. They were the ones being biased against because folks enjoyed making money off them and not having to pay them for it. (Don't give me that "ScOlaRsHiP!" comeback for them having been unpaid. If a player generates you enough money that you can build a brand new STADIUM, a scholarship is the equivalent of getting paid a penny an hour so you can't claim to be unpaid labor.)

[TJ528]

(Yesterday, 03:18 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Hell yeah! Hurray unpaid labor in a billion dollar business like the game was meant to be! 

- - - - - - -

The bias was them NOT being allowed to get paid. Every other college student could get a job and accept money for their NIL except for athletes. They were the ones being biased against because folks enjoyed making money off them and not having to pay them for it. (Don't give me that "ScOlaRsHiP!" comeback for them having been unpaid. If a player generates you enough money that you can build a brand new STADIUM, a scholarship is the equivalent of getting paid a penny an hour so you can't claim to be unpaid labor.)

I do think now that players get paid, that they shouldnt have to go to class and the university shouldnt pay for it period.  If players after HS want to continue their education in "college" then use some of the $$$ they're getting from NIL and the athletic department and pay your own way like every other college student.  Pay for your own books, ect.  They are no longer student athletes.  They're semi-professional athletes.  

I agree they should've been getting a share of the $$$ all along but we'll see how many of these kids end up having character issues once they enter the NFL draft.   

[007BengalsFan]

(06-12-2025, 04:48 PM)RunKijanaRun Wrote: Yes, and the Bengals are structuring the money differently in addition to the clause. Most players who have this clause in their contract have a lot more money up front so the future guarantees aren’t nearly as much of a concern. Bengals are not structuring it in that fashion.

Philadelphia is one of the teams reported to use the same type of language in their contracts.  This is what they paid their first round pick this year and how much of that contract was paid as a signing bonus overall and as a percentage of the total contract.


Jihaad Campbell signed a 4 year $14,903,565 dollar contract with a signing bonus of $7,478,956 making his signing bonus 50% of his total contract

By comparison last year

Amarius Mims signed a 4 year $15,371,558 dollar contract with a signing bonus of $7,999,316 making his signing bonus 52% of his total contract

The total dollar amounts are pretty close and the upfront signing bonus is close as a percentage of the overall contract even with the language Philadelphia uses.  Just from these numbers, it doesnt appear Philadelphia is paying anymore upfront than the Bengals.  Im wondering what structure issues Stewart and his agent keep releasing to the media they are unhappy about.  Like I have said before just come out and say what you are unhappy about in the contract.  Stewart has no problem blasting the Bengals in the media then leaving camp airing his laundry out in public.  At this point be a man and lay out specifically what it is about the contract you dont like instead of hiding behind vague claims.

[TJ528]

(Yesterday, 04:01 PM)007BengalsFan Wrote: Philadelphia is one of the teams reported to use the same type of language in their contracts.  This is what they paid their first round pick this year and how much of that contract was paid as a signing bonus overall and as a percentage of the total contract.


Jihaad Campbell signed a 4 year $14,903,565 dollar contract with a signing bonus of $7,478,956 making his signing bonus 50% of his total contract

By comparison last year

Amarius Mims signed a 4 year $15,371,558 dollar contract with a signing bonus of $7,999,316 making his signing bonus 52% of his total contract

The total dollar amounts are pretty close and the upfront signing bonus is close as a percentage of the overall contract even with the language Philadelphia uses.  Just from these numbers, it doesnt appear Philadelphia is paying anymore upfront than the Bengals.  Im wondering what structure issues Stewart and his agent keep releasing to the media they are unhappy about.  Like I have said before just come out and say what you are unhappy about in the contract.  Stewart has no problem blasting the Bengals in the media then leaving camp airing his laundry out in public.  At this point be a man and lay out specifically what it is about the contract you dont like instead of hiding behind vague claims.

Completely agree.  If you have big enough balls to call the organization out, then lay out what the issue is.  Be a man about it instead of ***** footing around the issue.  


I can't remember the last time the Bengals had an issue with signing a 1st round draft pick.  Maybe the early 2000's?  Yet, everyone seems to think this is an issue for the Bengals.  

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(Yesterday, 03:18 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Hell yeah! Hurray unpaid labor in a billion dollar business like the game was meant to be! 

- - - - - - -

The bias was them NOT being allowed to get paid. Every other college student could get a job and accept money for their NIL except for athletes. They were the ones being biased against because folks enjoyed making money off them and not having to pay them for it. (Don't give me that "ScOlaRsHiP!" comeback for them having been unpaid. If a player generates you enough money that you can build a brand new STADIUM, a scholarship is the equivalent of getting paid a penny an hour so you can't claim to be unpaid labor.)

Thanks for this TLL. I honestly didn't know this as I never went to college. That is BS athletes not being able to get a job.

Not cool the folks making money off of the athletes as well. You changed my mind on this except for the point TJ528 was making about 
seeing more athletes having character issues and not needing the money in the future though.

[*ochocincos*]

(Yesterday, 02:35 PM)TJ528 Wrote: bfine32 

That's my whole issue with the entire thing.  Shamar can blame the organization all he wants, however, out of 40 NFL draft picks he's the only 1 that hasnt practiced.  

That's on him and his representation.  I liked the pick initially.  Maybe there are some character issues to worry about now that these warts are showing. 

What made me worried was on draft night when he was selected.

He looked angry and was quiet. He was not excited.
Upon being interviewed right after walking onto the stage, he said something the lines of, "The other teams messed up not drafting me earlier."
From what I can remember, he did not really talk about how he was excited to be joining the Bengals, just mad he didn't get drafted sooner.

That's not really a guy I was overly excited joining the team, separate from my dislike of his lack of production in college.
He sounded unappreciative.

And before anyone looks up the post-draft interview where he's sitting at the table, that's not what I'm referring to. I'm referring to actually when he got his name called and walked onto the stage, being interviewed by I can't remember exactly who as he was about to walk offstage.

[*ochocincos*]

Here is something posted earlier today about possibility Stewart could reenter the draft next year due to a CBA loophole, and also clarification on what the voiding of guarantees actually would mean.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/re-enter-the-nfl-draft-how-shemar-stewart-could-use-cba-loophole-to-create-nightmare-situation-for-bengals/

Quote:This would allow the Bengals to void future guarantees if he were to get into trouble (this could be a suspension for on-field conduct, off-field conduct, an arrest or anything else the Bengals can think of). Normally, a first-round pick gets a fully guaranteed four-year contract, but this would give the Bengals some wiggle room to potentially get out of that if he were to get into trouble at any point during his four-year deal.

So it seems specific to almost any on-field or off-field incident.

As for the possibility of him re-entering the draft...

Quote:Here's a look at two of his options he would have if he doesn't want to sign with the Bengals:

He could re-enter the NFL Draft.
If Stewart doesn't sign his contract and he doesn't play football at all in 2025, he could re-enter the NFL Draft in 2026. If he went this route, it means that any team could draft him next year, except for the Bengals. If a player were to successfully pull off a power move like this, it could throw a wrench into the future of the draft. It would set up potential situations where a player could sit out if he got drafted by a team he didn't want to play for. Stewart would essentially have until November to make a decision on this. He's allowed to sign his rookie contract until the Tuesday following Week 10. If he doesn't sign it by that date, then he's not allowed to play in 2025. There's another upside to this strategy: If Stewart went undrafted in 2026 -- maybe his situation with the Bengals scares teams away -- then he would become an undrafted free agent following the 2026 draft and he'd be free to sign with any team.

He could ask for a trade.
If the Bengals won't give him the contract language he wants, maybe someone else will. There is a unique deadline in place for any team that wants to trade a rookie: A deal has to be made at least 30 days before the start of the regular season, so a decision would have to be made here by Aug. 5 or Aug. 8 (The CBA isn't clear if it's 30 days before the start of the first game of the regular season or 30 days before the Bengals' first game of the season). The Bengals don't like being bullied, so this scenario would probably be unlikely, but it would be an option.