Michael Brown (born August 10, 1935) is an American professional football executive who is the owner of the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League (NFL). The son of Bengals co-founder Paul Brown, he joined the Bengals upon their founding in 1968, serving as the assistant general manager. He assumed ownership in 1991 after his father's death.
Early life Brown is the only living son of Paul Brown. His brother, Pete, was the senior vice-president of Bengals' player personnel until his death in 2017. His older brother, Robin, died of cancer in 1978.
Brown graduated from Dartmouth College in 1957, where he played quarterback for their football team, and from Harvard Law School in 1960.Harvard Alumni Directory (1995) p. 163. He played nine games for the Big Green in 1956. In an unusual meeting between future sports owners, eventual New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner hired him to a summer job as a deck hand for Kinsman Marine Transit Company.
Brown eventually followed his father into football management. Paul Brown founded the Bengals, then an American Football League (AFL) team, in 1968. (This was several years after Paul Brown was dismissed as Cleveland Browns head coach in a well-publicized falling out with Art Modell.Ridenour, Marla, 1995, December 17, Modell young, green when he fired Brown, Columbus Dispatch, 06H.) He began his executive duties with the Bengals as assistant general manager. Along with personnel decisions, he was a spokesman for the team on issues of league rules and team policy.Daly, Dan, 1990, August 10, Speaking of money, why not just stop, The Washington Times, D1.Dodd, Mike, 1990, November 8, Unblinking eye spies on NFL refs; Is replay use counterproductive?, USA Today, 8C.
Taking over the team Brown assumed ownership responsibilities upon his father's death in August 1991 and has remained in the ownership position since. His first significant move as owner was to fire popular coach Sam Wyche after the 1991 season (although he originally claimed that Wyche resigned).Players are stunned by Wyche's exit, 1991, December 26, The New York Times, B21. Days later, Brown hired Dave Shula to be head coach, making Shula (at the time) the second youngest NFL head coach in history and making Dave and Don Shula the first father-son to lead different NFL teams in the same year.Fowler, Scott, 1991, December 28, Shula & son: NFL coaching tandem; Bengals select David Shula, The Miami Herald, D1. Going into 1993, Brown sought to negotiate a new lease with Cincinnati to keep the Bengals in the city.
Construction of a new stadium deal Initially, Brown rejected advances from other cities to discuss moving the team.Shapiro, Leonard, 1993, December 2, Expansive Jacksonville is jumping for Jaguars; NFL's newest city enjoys upset victory, The Washington Post, B1. By 1995, he argued that Riverfront Stadium's small seating capacity and lack of luxury boxes was hindering the Bengals' success.Forbes, Gordon, 1995, June 20. Bengals' boss sees stadiums as solutions, USA Today, 6C.
In 1995, he announced that Cincinnati had breached its lease agreement when it was late by one week in paying $167,000 in concession receipts. He threatened to move the team to Baltimore if Cincinnati or Hamilton County would not fund a new stadium.1995, June 25, Bengals set ultimatum, The Washington Post, p. D05 The leverage of this threat proved successful as Cincinnati's City Council and the Hamilton County Commissioners opted to fund the new Paul Brown Stadium with a proposed county sales tax increase, which needed voter approval. (Modell eventually, and controversially, moved the Browns to Baltimore and renamed it to the Ravens, but a new Cleveland team resumed the Browns' history.) In 1996, Hamilton County voters passed a one-half percent sales tax increase to fund the building of a new facility for the Bengals and a second new facility for the Major League Baseball Cincinnati Reds.1996, September 6. The stadium binge, USA Today, 20C. The Bengals filed suit against the county for the right to manage it in 2000.2000, April 27. Bengals sue county for right to manage new football stadium, The Associated Press State & Local Wire. County commissioners agreed to let a Bengals' subsidiary run the stadium,2000, May 25. County OKs deal to let Bengals unit manage new stadium, The Associated Press State & Local Wire. and it opened later that year.2000, September 10. Browns spoil opener for Bengals' stadium, Associated Press Worldstream
In 2007, Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune (a former Cincinnati City Council member, though not Commissioner at the time the parties executed the lease), filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the NFL, the Bengals and the other 31 NFL teams. Portune felt, among other things, that published revenues from 1995 to 1999 Bruton, Mike. 2001, May 17. League, teams take aim at revenue report. Philadelphia Inquirer. contradicted Brown's claims of financial distress. The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners eventually was substituted as the plaintiff in the case. Fans supporting Portune cited what they felt was the broken promise that the Bengals would "be more competitive" with a new stadium.Associated Press, 2000, August 16, Public gets look at new Bengals' stadium. The Bengals have had only eight winning seasons out of 22 since the stadium opened, with five of those seasons occurring from 2011 to 2015.
Rick Eckstein, co-author of "Public Dollars, Private Stadiums," described the Hamilton County arrangement as "the single most lopsided stadium deal since 1993" and questioned Bob Bedinghaus' role with the team after having been County Commissioner when the deal was reached. A 2008 Forbes survey suggested the team's rankings in direct revenues had dropped since the stadium's construction (placing the team 21st in total value at the time at $941 million).
The organization's lease is due to expire in 2026. In 2020, Hamilton County and the Bengals agreed to split costs on an architectural needs assessment of the stadium.Wartman, Scott, 2020, September 12, What will stadium need to stay 'relevant?': County hires architects to recommend what needs to be done over next 20 years, Cincinnati Enquirer, A.1.
On-the-field struggles Since Brown became owner, the team has eight winning seasons out of 30, a winning percentage of .418 (199–278–4) in the regular season, and no playoff wins in seven appearances from 1991 to 2020. In 2008, the Bengals set a record for the most games needed under one specific owner to attain 100 wins (288). In 2010, the team set a record for the fewest games needed to lose 200 (both considering and not considering playoffs) under one specific owner (314).Jones, Tom, 2010, November 12, Number of the day, St. Petersburg Times (Florida), 2C.
The Bengals hold a number of distinctions for the time frame of Brown's ownership: It is the only team with three nine-game-or-more losing streaks. It also holds six of the twenty-five 0-6 starts (24%)Bengals back to setting standard for misery Yahoo.com and four of the thirteen 0-8 starts (31%) in that time. The Bengals have gone winless in October nine different times in twenty-two years under five different head coaches (Sam Wyche, the first under his ownership, was originally hired by his father).
The franchise's winless playoff record from 1991 to 2020 was the longest active drought in the four major North American sports. One of the few successful coaches during Brown's tenure was Marvin Lewis, who was his first to have winning seasons, playoff appearances, division titles, and an overall winning record at 131-129-3 (.504). All seven of the Bengals postseason appearances with Lewis, however, ended in first-round losses.
Zac Taylor, Lewis' successor, was the first head coach under Brown to win a playoff game, which he achieved in 2021. The team also won the franchise's first road playoff game and advanced to Super Bowl LVI, although they lost to the Los Angeles Rams.
In 2009, Yahoo Sports ranked Brown as the second worst owner in the NFL. In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked Mike Brown as the 9th worst sports owner.
Philosophy During Marvin Lewis' tenure as head coach, Brown began to cede more of the day-to-day control over football matters to a committee composed of Lewis, executive vice president Katie Blackburn (Brown's daughter), and several other members of the Brown family.Wesseling, Chris. Mike Brown ceding Bengals control to Marvin Lewis. NFL Network, July 27, 2014. This preceded a five-year run of playoff appearances (2011–2015).
Tolerance of off field conduct In the mid-to-late 2000s, the Bengals were involved in a series of disciplinary measures with a variety of players. In 2005, the Bengals drafted Chris Henry and Odell Thurman, each considered exceptionally talented but possible disciplinary hazards during their college careers.Newberry, Paul. 2004, September 30. Odell Thurman: I'm not a bad guy, The Associated Press State & Local Wire.Kay, Joe. 2005, April 3, Henry had to convince Bengals he was a good risk, The Associated Press State & Local Wire. The following year, they were among nine Bengals players arrested for various offenses. Brown cut several "problem players" in 2008 including Henry and Thurman, but re-signed Henry later that year.Maske, Mark. 2008, August 20. Bengals Re-Sign WR Henry Despite His Suspension, The Washington Post, E03. This came after five arrests of Henry and Brown's statement earlier in the year that Henry's "conduct could no longer be tolerated."2008, April 4, Bengals drop Henry after assault charge, conduct 'no longer tolerated' by team, National Post (Canada) One fan protested by purchasing an electronic billboard along the Cincinnati interstate reading "CHRIS HENRY AGAIN? ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Henry died during a domestic dispute on December 17, 2009. Commenting on his death, Brown defended his decision to re-sign Henry, noting that "We knew him in a different way than his public persona." Posthumously, it was discovered that Henry was suffering from a progressive degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. According to a West Virginia University research study, the CTE may have contributed to Henry's troubled behavior and, ultimately, his death.
Later in 2008, the Bengals signed running back Cedric Benson, whom the Chicago Bears had waived, in part, due to his off-field activities.Kay, Joe. 2008, November 5. Benson has become Bengals' top runner, Associated Press Online. In 2009, the team added Larry Johnson to provide depth for the position after the Kansas City Chiefs released him for "detrimental conduct." Johnson had also experienced recent legal difficulties. Benson was among 2009's leading NFL rushers, while Johnson saw limited action.
Brown also signed free agent Adam "Pacman" Jones during the 2010 offseason despite Jones' legal history while a member of the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys, including a season-long ban in 2007 due to a shooting in Las Vegas. He also signed undrafted free agent Vontaze Burfict in the 2012 offseason despite his legal history in college and high number of flagrant fouls while at Arizona State. Both Jones and Burfict in particular drew ire from fans during the 2015 Wild Card Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, in which Burfict committed a personal foul on Antonio Brown, which left him concussed, and Jones got into an altercation with Steelers linebacker coach Joey Porter during the play. Both plays drew 15-yard penalties and ultimately resulted in an 18-16 loss in that game.
In recent years, Brown claims to have rethought this approach. Talking about the team's second appearance on Hard Knocks, Brown stated, "We have a different team now than we had a few years ago. We want the public to see them. We think they're good people. We think the public will be taken by them, will like them. It gives us a boost."