CINCINNATI — Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson will finally end his hold in and sign a new contract.
In the end, all the ugliness and grandstanding of this negotiation landed at Hendrickson only agreeing to an increase in pay for this season. There is no long-term extension as the two sides continually fought over guaranteed money beyond this year. Hendrickson receives a raise that will bump his 2025 salary to $30 million, per a team source. He will still become a free agent after this year.
This ends a negotiation years in the making and will keep the 30-year-old edge rusher tied to Cincinnati for one more year before hitting free agency in March.
The Bengals originally offered a three-year, $95 million deal to Trey Hendrickson that did not include guaranteed money in the second year, per sources.
Hendrickson and the Bengals were able to reach agreement a half hour ago on this reworked deal that will end his hold-in and… pic.twitter.com/eige7ubjQY
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) August 25, 2025
Hendrickson was runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year in 2024, compiling 17.5 sacks to lead the league. He has the most sacks in the NFL over the last two years (35.0).
Yet, for two years, he has battled with the Bengals’ front office for a raise commensurate with his production. He demanded a trade in the summer of 2024, which went unfulfilled before he reported and played out his season.
He was among the players Joe Burrow publicly stated in January that the Bengals needed to bring back. Once receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins both landed extensions in March, and tight end Mike Gesicki was re-signed as a free agent, Hendrickson was the last of Burrow’s bunch without a deal.
Hendrickson voiced his displeasure publicly during the process, including multiple appearances on “The Pat McAfee Show,” where he questioned the communication coming from the Bengals’ front office.
The price for premier edge rushers only got higher as Hendrickson lobbied for more. Browns All-Pro Myles Garrett reset the market in March, signing a four-year deal for $160 million, $123,596,125 guaranteed. Steelers star T.J. Watt eclipsed the average annual value of that deal in July by reupping in Pittsburgh for three years and $123 million ($41 million AAV), $108 million guaranteed.
In May, Hendrickson showed up to one Bengals OTA in street clothes and made his way over to the media at the end of practice. He spoke for 20 minutes, airing grievances with head coach Zac Taylor and the state of the negotiations.
Hendrickson was training in Cincinnati before camp, and the two sides appeared close to a deal the weekend before camp began, but the deal fell apart, so Hendrickson retreated to his residence in Florida and missed the first five practices of camp. He racked up a mandatory $50,000 fine for each practice missed.
Hendrickson returned July 30 and vowed not to be a distraction, also stating the contract negotiations had not changed. He had one year and $16 million remaining on a contract extension he signed in 2023.
The Bengals originally signed Hendrickson as a free agent from New Orleans in 2021 on a four-year, $60 million contract, betting that the one year of significant production he enjoyed with the Saints was the start of something bigger. It certainly was. Hendrickson racked up 60 ½ sacks, 11 forced fumbles, four Pro Bowls and one All-Pro in Cincinnati.
The Bengals are betting that Hendrickson can defy the odds of recent edge rusher history. Over the last 10 years, there have been 44 individual seasons in which an edge rusher compiled at least 70 pressures, as Hendrickson did in each of the past three years, including the playoffs.
How many were done by a player who was older than Hendrickson will be opening day? One: Khalil Mack with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023.
(Photo: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)