Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

New details emerge about Trey Hendrickson's holdout from Bengals

By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 8:12 PM ET

Cincinnati Bengals star Trey Hendrickson is still seeking a contract extension with veterans set to report to training camp on Wednesday, and some new information has emerged about his dispute with the team.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported on Monday evening that the overall dollar amount the Bengals have offered Hendrickson is not the issue. Hendrickson, who is set to make $16M in base salary this season, wants guaranteed money in 2026 and beyond.

If not for the disagreement over guaranteed money, Rapoport says Hendrickson would have signed a new deal by now.

"The Bengals have offered a substantial raise this year, plus a multi-year deal. It's really not just about the overall dollars that the Bengals have offered Trey Hendrickson," Rapoport said. "If it was just about the base money, then this would probably be done already. ... He wants guaranteed money into next year and beyond. That is what a lot of the really good pass-rushing contracts have featured. That's what T.J. Watt's contract featured.

"I'm not saying that Trey Hendrickson's gonna get the contract that T.J. Watt got, but his deal does have guarantees deep into the deal. That seems to be what Hendrickson wants."

From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: The #Bengals and NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson are in negotiations and while there was optimism from owner Mike Brown today, they aren’t there yet. pic.twitter.com/jcTZEnd5rI
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 21, 2025

Bengals owner Mike Brown said on Monday that he is optimistic there will be an agreement between Hendrickson and the team in the near future. Brown also ruled out trading the 30-year-old defensive end.

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.

T.J. Watt last week signed a three-year, $123M extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The $41M average annual value on that deal just barely tops the $40M per year Myles Garrett got from the Cleveland Browns earlier this offseason.

The market has been set for Hendrickson, so it is hardly a surprise he is driving a hard bargain. There have even been reports that he may consider a drastic move, though the Bengals seem to think it will not come to that.

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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