Trey Hendrickson's Revised Bengals Contract Reportedly Doesn't Have No-Tag Clause

Trey Hendrickson's revised contract reportedly doesn't prohibit the Cincinnati Bengals from potentially franchise tagging him in 2026.

According to ESPN's Field Yates, Hendrickson's reworked contract does not include a no-tag clause that would block the team from applying a franchise tag after the 2025 season.

Hendrickson's 2026 franchise tag would be worth 120 percent of his current cap number, which Yates noted increased by $3 million in the revised contract.

That means it would cost the Bengals about $34.8 million to tag Hendrickson before the 2026 season, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

It took the Bengals half a year of contentious contract negotiations to agree to reworking Hendrickson's 2025 contract to offer the four-time Pro Bowler a $14 million pay bump without adding another year to his deal.

The revised contract offers Hendrickson $30 million in 2025 salary, as well as a $1 million incentive if he plays 60 percent of snaps and the Bengals make the playoffs, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

That puts Hendrickson in a stronger position by bumping up the cost of his franchise tag. It still leaves him without any guarantees past the 2025 season, at which point he is currently scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent.

After leading the NFL with 17.5 sacks in 2024, Hendrickson repeatedly told reporters this offseason that he was seeking long-term security with guaranteed money.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini reportedly after the news of Hendrickson's reworked contract broke that the Bengals originally offered him a three-year, $95 million deal which he turned down because it did not include guaranteed money in Year 2 .

The Bengals are no stranger to using the franchise tag to keep star players in Cincinnati. The team used the clause on Tee Higgins for two straight seasons before replacing his most recent tag with a four-year extension.

Hendrickson, who has not missed a game for two straight seasons, will hope to stay healthy in his age-31 campaign in order to strengthen his position when his next contract negotiations begin next spring.