diff --git a/connect/api/src/main/java/org/apache/kafka/connect/header/ConnectHeader.java b/connect/api/src/main/java/org/apache/kafka/connect/header/ConnectHeader.java
index ed4be0904b29e..3b9f3470f6c14 100644
--- a/connect/api/src/main/java/org/apache/kafka/connect/header/ConnectHeader.java
+++ b/connect/api/src/main/java/org/apache/kafka/connect/header/ConnectHeader.java
@@ -36,7 +36,6 @@ protected ConnectHeader(String key, SchemaAndValue schemaAndValue) {
         Objects.requireNonNull(key, "Null header keys are not permitted");
         this.key = key;
         this.schemaAndValue = schemaAndValue != null ? schemaAndValue : NULL_SCHEMA_AND_VALUE;
-        assert this.schemaAndValue != null;
     }
 
     @Override