After an excruciatingly long back-and-forth, the 2024 sack leader was finally signed to a contract that both sides could agree on.
History
Trey Hendrickson had 17.5 sacks in 2024, leading the league and contending for the Defensive Player of the Year award. Between April and August, Hendrickson skipped mandatory training camp, requested a trade, and was put on the trade block. Many fans were worried that with every day that passed, the relationship between the organization and Hendrickson would slowly diminish to the point of no return. Owner Mike Brown has been known to spend very little and has severed the relationship with countless Bengals stars. Hendrickson’s agent once called their offer “atrociously, atrociously, low.”
Contract Details
The contract agreement is a $14 million raise in 2025, but his contract will end after this upcoming season. This will put the thirty-one-year-old at $30 million this season, making him a free agent in 2026.
Moving Forward
With this contract not being an extension, it begs the question of what will transpire next season, when this whole situation will be repeated. A lot will be riding on Hendrickson’s performance this season, and how the Bengals decide to interpret it. If he flops, Cincinnati has an easy decision with a likely release, which is very well possible with Hendrickson being on the wrong side of thirty. If Trey can maintain this level of performance or even exceed expectations, the Bengals will have to decide if his defense is worth a new contract, despite his age.
Whether or not the criticism Cincinnati received this offseason for the mismanagement of players’ contracts is warranted, we have to give credit where credit is due; Cincinnati was told there was no chance to resign all their stars, and that’s exactly what they did. It may have come much later than it should have, and it certainly wasn’t pretty, but they got it all done. Just in time for week one in Cleveland, too.
