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Hendrickson reveals big issue in contract talks with Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Trey Hendrickson reveals the big issue in contract talks with Bengals

Trey Hendrickson has officially begun his training camp holdout, and the Cincinnati Bengals star says there has been one main issue in his contract negotiations with the team.

Hendrickson, who is set to make a base salary of $16M in the final season of his deal this year, has been seeking an extension since the start of the offseason. Bengals veterans reported to training camp on Tuesday, and Hendrickson shared a photo on social media that showed he is in Florida.

Hendrickson later told Dianna Russini of The Athletic that he had recently been at home in Cincinnati, but he and his wife decided to go to Jacksonville as training camp approached with no long-term deal in place. Hendrickson said he received two offers from the Bengals in a 24-hour span leading up to training camp, but neither contained any guaranteed money beyond the 2026 season.

"I was more than willing to take less in some ways in order to make this work," Hendrickson told Russini.

Based on what he has said, Hendrickson is not seeking to become the highest-paid defensive player in football. In order to accomplish that, he would have to top the three-year, $123M extension T.J. Watt signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.

As Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported on Monday night, the issue is guaranteed money. For whatever reason, the Bengals appear to be unwilling to offer Hendrickson guarantees beyond next season.

Hendrickson had 35 sacks over the past two seasons, which was the most in the NFL during that span. He had 17.5 sacks each season and finished second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024.

The Bengals probably have concerns about Hendrickson's age, as he will turn 31 during the upcoming season. Still, their defense is in desperate need of help, so they are taking a significant risk by playing hardball with their most impactful defensive player.

Steve DelVecchio

Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country

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