It’s wild, right? Despite the Lombardi trophy being an elusive prize for Cincy, they rally behind Mike Brown like he’s calling all the right audibles. Zac Taylor said it best: “His words of wisdom are incredible…he’s been 100 for 100 on the times he’s given me those moments.” Those are big words. Why? Eight winning seasons in three decades and no playoff wins from ’91 to 2020? That’s not exactly championship material. Yet, here we are.

Cherry on the top? The Bengals are still struggling, sitting at 1-4 this season. And still, there’s faith. Thanks in part to Joe Burrow, of course. But the Who Dey respect Brown’s presence. Sure, you can ask—why does Mike Brown continue to get the benefit of the doubt despite all the years of mediocrity? You are well within those rights. Let’s just say something deeper keeps this franchise ticking.

What is Mike Brown’s net worth?

As Coach Taylor pointed out, Mike’s been here since 1991. So, that’s over 30 years of calling the shots as the team’s de facto GM. Not many owners hold on to that kind of power. Yeah, you know the other one, don’t you? Jerry Jones, over in Dallas. Yeehaw! And we all know how that’s been working out.

You can say the Bengals are another family-owned franchise. I mean, there’s nothing really to say when it’s clear. When Paul Brown (the guy who co-founded the team back in ’68) passed away in 1991, it was obvious that the next in line would take over the reins. And in this case, it was his son, Mike Brown. You can bet that he wanted to step out from his father’s legacy. If not, then why was his first big move involved firing coach Sam Wyche?

That was not the only big move he made. Mike wanted full control of the franchise. But he could not have done it without purchasing shares from the co-founder’s estate in 2011. Voila! That’s how he got the tag of the majority owner. And you can say that move sky-rocketed his net worth to $3.9 billion. It’s a different ball game, keeping in mind that the Bengals haven’t seen a Super Bowl win!

Well, hold on to your helmets because recently, Mike made it onto Forbes’ 400 Richest Billionaires list too, landing at No. 338. That’s some serious cash flow, even if the trophy case is still a little bare. But you’d lose your head knowing the initial worth of the team to what it’s worth now.

How much are the Bengals worth?

See, the thing is, we can say that Paul Brown laid the foundations for his son to come and just continue with that Brown magic to keep the franchise going. And it would be true (quite literally!). The Bengals are just going. But we cannot take away what Mike has brought. A sense of belief. I mean, if not for that, we wouldn’t be sitting here talking about the Bengals being a threat.

And the other thing that Mike gave Cincy? A financial empire. Back in 1967, the Bengals were valued at $7.5 million, no one could’ve predicted just how much the franchise would grow. Fast forward to 2024, and the Bengals are now valued at $4.1 billion. Not bad, right?  But here’s the thing (we wouldn’t be blaming them) in the League of the Riches: the Bengals are one of the least valuable teams.

I mean, when the league average sits at a cool $6 billion, the Bengals’ $4.1 billion value feels like they’re lagging behind. But Mike’s making sure the team stays in the family with his daughter, Katie Blackburn, running things. She’s the Bengals’ EVP, the NFL’s first female chief contract negotiator, and sits on the Competition Committee. Impressive, right? Hmm, sure, until you look at the record… then things get a little less shiny.

The record? Yup! Since Mike’s takeover, Cincy is 205-298-4. And in true Brown fashion, they even voted against the league’s new rule, allowing private equity ownership—keeping it all in the family. The Who Dey has no beef with the Browns. All they ask for is at least a good championship run in return. Can it come by this season, despite the horror start? Time will bear witness to it.