For months, Trey Hendrickson sought a real extension that may provide guarantees beyond Yr 1. Excluding Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, such contracts should not a part of the Bengals’ blueprint. The team ended up not budging on that stance, but a compromise emerged late to bring its top defender back into the fold.
Cincinnati agreed to a one-year bump with Hendrickson, who secured a $14MM raise for 2025. The deal also features a $1MM incentive that might bump the standout defensive end’s earnings to $30MM this yr. If Hendrickson plays 60% of the Bengals’ defensive snaps and the team books a playoff berth, that $1MM bump would trigger, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Hendrickson, 30, logged 73% defensive snap share in 2024 and 68% of the team’s plays in 2023. The contract also features a void yr, based on ESPN.com’s Field Yates, who adds Hendrickson’s cap number increased by $3MM. The ninth-year veteran now counts $21.67MM on the Bengals’ cap sheet. Not known for much void year-related cap manipulation, the Bengals can be tagged with a $10MM dead money hit in the event that they don’t re-sign Hendrickson before the 2026 league yr.
The Bengals held firm on not offering a post-Yr 1 guarantee to Hendrickson. Cincy is considered one of the few teams that as a rule avoids this contract structure; its pricey Tee Higgins extension didn’t stray from it, even while the Chase deal did. Hendrickson is believed to have turned down a three-year, $95MM extension that didn’t include guarantees beyond Yr 1. This proposal was backloaded, with The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. indicating Hendrickson was due $23MM in 2026 and $39MM in 2027
As for Hendrickson’s current deal, the NFL’s reigning sack leader said (via ESPN.com’s Ben Baby) the team didn’t communicate an aim at a 2025 raise until the eve of coaching camp. Hendrickson added he didn’t receive the offer he eventually agreed to was not previously offered in the course of the lengthy negotiation. Although Hendrickson said he was “incredibly humbled” by the team’s raise, turning down the above-referenced extension offer sets up an interesting next chapter on this long-running saga.
While the Bengals have some younger defensive ends they’ll hope can show long-term potential (in Shemar Stewart and Myles Murphy, the latter not justifying his first-round slot yet), they may circle back to Hendrickson via a 2026 franchise tag. It might be a costly tag, at roughly $34.8MM, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. No team has ever tagged a non-quarterback at that rate, but when Hendrickson delivers one other big yr, it will surely be a conversation — even in a possible tag-and-trade scenario. Dehner points to this relationship ending with a 2026 free agency departure, which may lead to a third-round 2027 compensatory pick.
The Bengals definitely made a superb bet on Hendrickson back in 2021, when the late-blooming Saints draftee agreed to a four-year, $60MM deal. Far outplaying that contract, Hendrickson — after a one-year, $21MM extension in 2023 — failed in convincing the Bengals to interrupt their non-superstar precedent for future guarantees. The All-Pro pass rusher will try to remain in top form ahead of his thirty first birthday en path to a high-end deal in 2026.