You are correct, but that's only part of the overall story.Joe Bananas wrote: ↑Fri Jun 27, 2025 2:46 pmOk. But I read where Mims contract last year was NOT worded anywhere close to this. So why is the team, front office screwing around.
Several teams have begun to add clauses similar to what the Bengals put in to Stewart's contract. It indemnifies them against the player taking unnecessary risks or doing something foolish off the field in their free time.
Basically, it says "If you're going to go mountain bike riding or swimming with sharks or sky diving, and you get injured and can't play, we get part of the money back or don't have to pay you the remainder of your contract, etc..." Depending on how its written.
The difference here with Shemar, is that other teams that have added such language into their contracts have given the players additional incentives to sweeten the deal and off-set the new language. "We get to rescind the remaining two years of your contract if you break your leg hunting Bigfoot but to off-set this clause, you get all your guaranteed money in the first two years of your contract instead of spreading it out over four." Or "We'll pay you an additional $100K per sack for any sacks over 10 in a given year instead of the usual 12."
Things like that.
Unlike other teams, the Bengals aren't offering Shemar any sort of off-setting incentives. They're just shoving a contract in front of him with this new language in it and in typical SoP style(?) saying, "Here, sign this. You're lucky to be playing in the NFL....period."
Of course Stewart's balking. His reasoning is why should I sign a contract without any kind of off-setting incentives when all the other players on the other teams got something?
Like I've written several times before, I don't blame the Bengals for wanting to include such language, the team has a right to protect itself. But why not include something as an incentive when all the other organizations have...?
The Bengals want their cake and to eat it too. Once again your Cincinnati Bengals are the sole team swimming upstream...
https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/nfl ... jyscs9dmb6
