This is getting even hairier.
It’s one thing when a player like Shemar Stewart, the Cincinnati Bengals’ first-round NFL Draft pick, is in a contract dispute. With so many questions on defense, having your first-rounder involved in this situation is not a good thing.
Now, Stewart’s father, Moe Marquez, is getting involved in his son’s contract dispute.
This is what Marquez had to say on the 4th & Forever show:
“The verbiage in the contract isn’t the same as past draft picks who were drafted lower than him, so that is what’s holding us back. This is not a now money thing. And when I say now money thing, I mean this is not, ‘Hey, we’re disagreeing over funds that’s gonna come in today or tomorrow.’ These are things that we’re disagreeing on that can affect him later on down the road.
“And I think a lot of people miss out on that because of that. You know, hey, if I sign this deal, I get this right now. Right, but this is a longevity game. He’s a human being. There is a life after football and down the road, sometimes a lot more important than what’s right in front of your face.”
Shemar Stewart’s Dad breaks silence over contract dispute with Cincinnati Bengals #Bengals #NFL pic.twitter.com/HAMpS4uSii
— Roundtable Sports (@RoundtableSN) May 26, 2025
Marquez is saying that what he and Shemar want is the exact same that last year’s first-round pick Amarius Mims got.
“We don’t want any more than anybody else has gotten. We want the same,” Marquez said. “We want the exact same that great player Amarius Mims got. We want to say we want the exact same that every Bengal first-round pick has gotten. And for some reason, they want to choose to change verbiage up this year.”
The Bengals drafted Stewart 17th overall, a move that many fans questioned. Now, with him in a contract dispute, it’s creating even more nervousness about the Bengals’ defense going into this season.