Former Bengals Star Highlights Contract Talk Frustration

A history of these battles between team and player.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh, forner Bengal, speaks to Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor before the NFL game at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — The Bengals are lingering in the news with no new contract signatures yet from Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart. T.J. Houshmandzadeh has been through that song and dance with the team before.

The former wide receiver broke down his frustrating contract impasse with the team in 2009, before eventually signing with the Seahawks. Cincinnati ended up inking a deal with Laveraunes Coles instead and he played just one season for the team (his final year in the league).

"It starts to get a little personal," Houshmandzadeh said on Nightcap. "I know when I left the Bengals, it was strictly a financial decision. I'm getting frustrated about like, y'all really offering me this? I was underpaid the last three years, and then the Bengals turn around. They signed Laveraunes Coles, got rid of him after one year. Next year, they signed Antonio Bryant. That's what it was. So those two seasons was $24 million in guaranteed money that they gave to both of them. If they had given that to me, I would have walked from California to Cincinnati to sign that."

Dance with the devil you know.

It was the better move in hindsight to extend Houshmandzadeh and it could be an eerily similar situation brewing with Hendrickson.

Houshmandzadeh played all 16 games in 2009 with some rough quarterback play leading to just 79 catches on 135 targets. He was 32 that year, while Hendrickson is entering his age-31 season.

Contract negotiations are professional mind games 🙄@housh84 @jharrison9292 @ShannonSharpe @ochocinco @ShayShayMedia_ pic.twitter.com/igmSMTJJEr

— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) July 7, 2025

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