Small Market BS

A classic Bengals excuse for not spending money on free agents, facilities and staffing is because of Cincinnati's market size compared to other NFL teams. This was the same argument they used to negotiate one of the sweetest deals in the NFL. Former Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus, who was the cheerleader-in-chief to get public financing of the Reds and Bengals stadium’s said in 2000: “Their concern is, "We will always be operating in a smaller market than many of the other football teams in the NFL.'” 

Bedinghaus is now the Bengals Director of Development for Paul Brown Stadium. You can expect more on this issue soon.

Bengals fans need to stop accepting this reasoning to excuse the Bengals management from their constant griping and penny-pinching. The NFL revenue sharing agreement means that even Isiah Thomas could make money running the Bengals. Unlike other major sports, the NFL’s policy means that funds generated from tickets, merchandise, sponsorships and national media deals (such as the NFL’s TV and Radio contracts) are divided equally between all 32 teams.  

Major League Baseball, on the other hand, lets teams negotiate their own TV contracts, leaving the Yankees with their own TV network (the YES network) and the Reds on Fox Sports Ohio. Guess which team generates more money in this situation?

A recent article in the Enquirer detailed the financial arrangement of Bob Kraft and the New England Patriots. Kraft purchased the team in 1994 for a then NFL record $172 million, then put $350 million of his own money into their new stadium. To recoup this investment, Kraft sold the naming rights to new P&G brand Gillette and is building a mixed use development adjacent to the stadium, at an additional cost to Kraft of $850 million.

The article also points out that Bengals could have adopted a similar approach by developing the Banks project between PBS and Great American ballpark, but chose not too. And why would they? The ransom paid by Hamilton County taxpayers to Mike Brown to keep him from moving the team remove any entrepreneurial drive the team may have held.

In contrast to the Patriots, the Bengals, will receive an estimated $800 million from Hamilton County on the building and maintenance for PBS.  As a 2000 Enquirer article stated: “…to help build Paul Brown Stadium, the Bengals will contribute about $11.7 million in rent and $25 million from sales of seat licenses. Upriver, the Pittsburgh Steelers will pay $113.1 million to build their new $244 million stadium, according to a lease and financing agreement reached in 1998. In later years, the Steelers will give back a share of club-seat revenue to the Pittsburgh Stadium & Exhibition Authority. The Bengals will share no stadium revenue with Hamilton County.”

The same article continues: “The Bengals' lease in some departments surpasses some of its contemporaries — Baltimore and Cleveland, for instance. The Ravens pay no rent, and the Browns pay $250,000 annually, while the Bengals will pay $11.7 million over nine years.

But both the Ravens and the Browns will pay for year-round maintenance of their stadiums, currently about $5 million a year. The Bengals will pay costs only on the 30-or-so days the team actually uses the stadium, about $1.1 million this season. In 2017, Hamilton County will begin to reimburse the team for those expenses.”

Make sure to read that entire article to get a better sense of the Paul Brown Stadium sweetheart deal, as well as the recent article on the Bengals’ refusal to sell naming rights to PBS to help Hamilton County recoup their investment.

Bottom line – the funds are there for the Bengals to compete with other teams for free agents, to build best in class facilities and improve their scouting departments. However, Mike Brown and the Bengals continue to be more concerned with maximizing profits than maximizing wins. In the pseudo-socialist NFL system, the “small market” excuse is as empty as Mike Brown’s determination to win a Super Bowl.

Comments

[Winn]

That is about as shady as it gets. And all this time we have been buying into the small market excuse, and giving the club the benefit of the doubt. I am starting to think that the Monday hangover is no longer worth it.

[Jonathan Smith]

Good work Simon! This post is the exact reason that I will be watching the games from the comforts of my man cave this season as opposed to shelling out the money to support that crook of an owner.

[IgnatiusJReilly]

I have some questions. Arthur Blank comes from Home Depot money, Jerry Jones from oil, are the Bengals Mike Brown's only source of income, his only asset so to speak? Are he and his family the sole shareholders in the club or are there minority partners? And to what temperature must tar be heated for it to effectively cover the entirety of an average human body- poured over the head? Also, are there specific sorts of feathers called for in a good old fashioned "tar and feathering"- and is goose down also considered feathers? Thank you in advance...