Mike Brown: Worst Owner in the National Football League

Any owner of every professional sports team attracts unfavorable criticism from fans and media at some point throughout the year. Any decision-maker for that matter, whether it be from a company, a school, a church, is frequently confronted with criticism. It is inevitable. People beyond an organization always desire to give you their two cents and are always happy to shower others with unsolicited advice. Mike Brown, who owns the Cincinnati Bengals, most likely deserves your unpleasant words.

That's right. For twenty years now, Mike Brown has wrecked a franchise that once showed promise with George W. Bush-like substance. Instead of selling the naming rights of the Bengal's Stadium to Cincinnati companies like Proctor and Gamble or Kroger, he chose to term the stadium after his pops. Money created from a company's acquisition of the naming rights could have went towards stadium debt or re-invested into the franchise.

How about the lack of a General Manager? I was unaware that a seventy four year-old man had the energy to satisfy the duties of a General Manager, President and Owner. That's just it. He does not have the energy meaning the organization will not access its full potential. In terms of scouting, many winning teams employ five or more scouts that study the college football landscape. Mike Brown employs one. In return, the Bengals have invested millions of dollars into busts including David Klingler (surpassing an offer of nine draft picks), Ki-Jana Carter, Andre Smith, Dan Wilkinson and Akili Smith.

Brown has also displayed an inclination to draft and sign players with rigid pasts and character flaws; Pacman Jones, Terrell Owens, Bernard Scott, Chris Henry and Cedric Benson only to name a few. If a player can't make the right decisions off of the field when he has a chance to think, how is he going to make the correct decision when in front of 70,000 people during a game? Though current Bengal Andre Smith does not have any arrests under his belt that we know of, he showed up to the NFL Combine 15 lbs. overweight. Who does that? This was a display of a complete lack of discipline and commitment. Nevertheless, Cincinnati drafted him and he later would hold out until nearly the beginning of the season, missing all of the 2009 training camp.

There are way too many numbers to mention in relation to the debt and lease arrangements of Paul Brown Stadium. Yes, the Hamilton County taxpayers did vote to implement a half cent tax in order to finance both Paul Brown Stadium and Great American BallPark, home of the Cincinnati Reds. Mike Brown often feels that the Bengals are made the scapegoat when controversy or news arises from the looming stadium debt. Brown, however, left Cincinnati residents with no choice by threatening to move the Bengals to Baltimore in 1995 if a new stadium wasn't built. Such a leave would be disastrous and have an indirect negative impact on the income and livelihood of local businesses. In other words, even though the Bengals are hardly ever competitive in the NFL, they bring in too much revenue to the city to allow them to leave.

There indeed maybe additional NFL owners that are either worse or not much better in fulfilling their obligations as an owner. Al Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders, and Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, draw an abundance of criticism from their fans. Heck, even Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys makes questionable decisions, but then again the Cowboys have more fans than each and every team.

Will the Cincinnati Bengals ever generate a return to prosperous seasons such as in 2005 and 2009? Doubtful. Carson Palmer and Chad OchoCinco no longer want to be playing for Cincinnati, joining an extensive line of past stars who wanted out such as Corey Dillon, Boomer Esiason and Carl Pickens. But then again, would you blame them?

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