Bengals Owner Mike Brown Acknowledges Challenge Of Keeping Talented Players With Looming Contracts

The Cincinnati Bengals have established themselves as contenders for the championship over the past two seasons, reaching the Super Bowl in 2021 and the AFC Championship Game in the following year. The team has achieved this success behind a cast of young and talented playmakers. However, Bengals owner Mike Brown recognizes that a bigger bill for the team’s premier talent will soon come due.

Brown spoke about the challenge of retaining talented players with looming contracts at the team’s annual luncheon on Monday. He used an analogy to explain the situation, saying, “We have some good players that need to be fed. That’s a challenge. It’s mathematical. You get a bag of corn and you have 10 hogs. Well, you’re going to put that out to them. The bag’s going to be empty. And some of them aren’t going to get it.”

The Bengals have several instrumental players on both sides of the ball with contracts that are set to expire soon. Linebacker Logan Wilson is in the final year of his rookie deal, and defensive tackle D.J. Reader, who has a team-high $15.5 million cap number this season, is also a pending free agent.

Most eyes are on the offense, where quarterback Joe Burrow’s potential extension is a topic of discussion after the team exercised his fifth-year rookie option over the offseason. Wide receivers Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are both entering their final seasons under contract, and Ja’Marr Chase will be up for a fifth-year option next offseason.

Brown has chosen to keep quiet about negotiations regarding Burrow’s contract extension, saying, “I have bound myself not to talk about Joe (Burrow’s) contract. I don’t think it’s helpful for the negotiations. The other side has made the same commitment and they have not broken it.”

The Bengals will have difficult choices ahead, but each decision will hopefully bring them closer to Brown’s ultimate goal: bringing a Super Bowl to Cincinnati.

Bengals Running Back Joe Mixon Takes Pay Cut To Help Team

Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon took a pay cut in mid-June to help the team with their overall situation. Bengals owner Mike Brown spoke about Mixon’s decision, saying, “We thought if we had a little more room it would help us with other situations. Joe (Mixon) understood that. He handled himself well. I like Joe. I think he’s a good player. He has been here and been an important player for a long time and we asked him to step up and help us with the overall situation we have, and he did.”

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