After months of contract negotiations that seemed unlikely to ever get resolved, the Cincinnati Bengals have finally signed 2025 first-round pick Shemar Stewart to his rookie contract. The Pittsburgh Steelers, meanwhile, have had their entire rookie class under contract since the end of May.
The Bengals chose to prioritize control over their players opposed to doing right by them, adding a clause for this year's rookie class that gives them more rights to void guarantees if a player violates team or league rules. The specific language didn't exist in past rookie contracts, so Stewart held out with the hopes of getting the Bengals to offer him the same type of deal that past first-round picks received.