Breaking news that provides a sigh of relief to Cincinnati Bengals fans everywhere, super star defensive end Trey Hendrickson has agreed to report to training camp starting Wednesday.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news at 6:39 PM Tuesday night.
“ESPN sources: Trey Hendrickson is planning to report to Bengals camp Wednesday, ending his holdout without being any closer to a new deal, per sources,” Schefters post reads.
Hendrickson joins fellow NFL super star, Terry McLaurin, as the second and final disgruntled A-lister to end their holdout. However, Schefter says Hendrickson agreeing to report does not land the two parties any closer to finding a deal.
“Reporting to camp stops the $50,000 per day fines and also serves as a good-faith gesture to try to jumpstart negotiations,” Schefters post continues. “The NFL’s final holdout is ending.”
Guaranteed Money Continues To Divide Bengals Locker Room
The Bengals had two big ticket contract disputes this summer, which is two more than you traditionally want. The first was, of course, the quest to extend the NFL’s leading sack getter. The second, however, concluded last week.
First round pick Shemar Stewart refused to put pen to paper over a disagreement about… guaranteed money. Eventually the two sides compromised but this wasn’t before some pretty ugly comments from the team’s owner Mike Brown.
Now with all eyes on this negotiation, Adam Schefter went on The McAfee Show to provide an update.
Schefter told the show that the two sides were very close on an agreement but couldn’t find common ground on the… guaranteed money.
“The deal is in place for Trey Hendrickson and the Bengals but there’s a disagreement over the guaranteed money,” Schefter said. “… It’s a big disagreement so far.”
Schefter told the crew that the two sides could be off by as much as 10 million dollars. He also highlighted that the Bengals are historically not big fans of guaranteed money. This sentiment was echoed by the owner’s recent comments and has to be frustrating for Bengals fans that are tired of seeing their team in the news for non-football reasons.
Examining Other Bengals’ Star’s Contracts
This is an interesting case study. Hendrickson is currently operating on a $21 million extension that the star believes he has outplayed after back-to-back years with 17.5 sacks.
Additionally, stars at the same position, like Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby, are making nearly twice as much as the 30-year-old in black and orange.
If guaranteed money is the hold up, lets look at the two most recent fat paychecks handed out by Brown’s front office,
For the best receiver in the NFL, Jamarr Chase, a four-year, $161 million contract brought $112,000,000 in guarantees. This is nearly 70 percent of the wideouts entire contract guaranteed.
But, for the team’s second option at the same position, a significant four-year, $115 million contract only saw $40,900,000 in guarantees awarded to Tee Higgins. Instead of 70%, this is closer to 35%.
The amount in which the front office agrees to guarantee Hendrickson will be a direct reflection of what the team thinks of him. It has shown a willingness to fork over big cash in the recent past, so a refusal to do so here could hurt the defensive ends ego as much as his pockets.
Bengals Super Star Trey Hendrickson Agrees To Report To Camp