Bengals are having stadium issues

[fergie's ire]

On 2/13/2025 at 6:14 PM, Low Positive said:

Why hire scouts when you can use Mel Kipers Big Board?

The sad thing is I think things have gotten better.  I believe it was just before the Marvin Lewis years, there were reports that Bengals coaches were flying to college games to scout on Saturday and then flying back to coach the game on Sunday.

[MikePJ76]

8 hours ago, Low Positive said:

You joke, but I think the Bengals take questionable guys every draft because when a player from a big school drops due to character concerns, it's the only guy left on the board that they know. They also only draft guys from big programs. You could say that is a good strategy, but in this case, I think it's because their primary college scouting is Mike Brown and Duke Tobin watching college football games on Saturdays in Mike's man cave. And they're not watching Alcorn State. 

The old saying, the second round is for criminals and medical issue guys

[major]

On 1/25/2025 at 12:26 PM, EasternOHBillsFan said:

This is REALLY bad news for the league. What cities are possibly up for grabs if they do move, maybe San Antonio? I doubt they would be the first international NFL franchise, but then again I refused to believe that the Rams and Chargers would BOTH relocate... 

Salt Lake City or San Antonio/austin makes sense to me. However I’m sure NFL would love them in London or Germany 

[Thrivefourfive]

Go to San Diego. Become the Pandas 

On 2/14/2025 at 12:42 AM, Doc Brown said:

It's actually worked out well for Howie Roseman.

When a talking head screams that this guy or that guy is the best in the draft, and Roseman hears it, he goes and gets him. 

[Mr. WEO]

9 hours ago, Thrivefourfive said:

Go to San Diego. Become the Pandas 

When a talking head screams that this guy or that guy is the best in the draft, and Roseman hears it, he goes and gets him. 

 

[Thrivefourfive]

On 2/16/2025 at 7:03 AM, Mr. WEO said:

 

I’ll take, and the rings 

[BarleyNY]

Read that the Haslams are having issues with their Brook Park dome plan. Seems like the issuance of local bonds as part of the financing isn’t feasible. Projections look to be based on a very unrealistic number of 50 annual sold out events over the next 30 years. As such, issuing them would be illegal under Ohio law. So it looks like the Haslams will have to come up with those funds or reconsider staying at the lakefront. 

[TheFunPolice]

My prediction is that if the Bengals don't pay to keep Higgins Burrow is going to go nuclear. It might not be this season, but soon. 

 

He's been yapping a lot about contracts all year. He knows how the Bengals like to operate: cheap and irrelevant (yet profitable!) if possible, but if we luck into a QB pay that one guy and hit the bargain bin for the rest of the team, staff, and facilities. 

 

Heck, they JUST finally built their first indoor practice facility! 

 

I predict Carson Palmer Part Two, except Burrow is a superstar, social media exists now, and players in general are much more powerful in the league. Can you imagine if a guy like Burrow demanded a trade? 

 

IMO It's going to get ugly. They already hollowed out the defense. Now they will hollow out the offense and put it all on Burrow and maybe 1-2 other star players. The fact that they made it to the Super Bowl was validation that what they are doing is working, at least to the people running the team. That was also before they had to sell naming rights to pay Burrow and before they started cutting costs elsewhere. 

 

If Higgins walks and Burrow has another borderline MVP season while the Bengals miss the playoffs I think you'll see it happen next offseason. 

 

Edited Tuesday at 10:59 PM by TheFunPolice

[Gregg]

How could any NFL team be having cash problems. The money they get from the TV contracts is a cash cow alone. This is the most popular sport in America and nothing else is even close including baseball. It's a multi-billion dollar a year business year after year. Just look at how the value of the small market Bills has gone up since Pegula bought the team. 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

On 1/25/2025 at 11:43 AM, Utah John said:

We put up with decades of mistakes because of a cheapskate owner, or rather an owner who listened to his bean counter instead of spending money he could afford to win more than 25% of the time.  Ralph was a good soul but the biggest reason the early 90s Bills didn't win the last two Super Bowls is that they got completely outspent by Jerry Jones.

 

So I feel sorry for the Cincinnati fans, who have some really good players but not the rest of the story.  That is, I feel sorry for them if the Bengals aren't in the playoffs.

 

It filters down to everything.  Scouting, Coaching, extensions, free agency, training staff, facilities.  

 

I don't think you can move them right away, nor do i think they want to move.  But if the NFL wants you to improve your stadium, you have to figure out how to milk the public for some of those renovation costs.  

 

Yes - he is a billionaire.  The team itself is valued at more than a billion dollars - but to access that money you need to sell equity in the team, or borrow money using it as collateral. 

 

They seem to operate similarly to buffalo in the past where they need the money coming in to be greater than the money going out - which doesn't leverage the always increasing value of your investment.  It also makes it challenging to sign players to these big extensions because you need to pay them a ton of money annually beyond what the cap hit is.  The cap "isn't real" in that it doesn't represent the actual cash moving - a 1 year deal with 3 void years involves all of that money being paid in year 1.  

[ddaryl]

On 1/25/2025 at 8:46 AM, Beast said:

One of these days people are going to stop being held hostage by sports teams. Seriously, what is wrong with that stadium? Keep it maintained and it should last 100 years.

 

 

I agree with the 1st sentence.. The 100 year sentence not so much

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

16 hours ago, TheFunPolice said:

My prediction is that if the Bengals don't pay to keep Higgins Burrow is going to go nuclear. It might not be this season, but soon. 

 

He's been yapping a lot about contracts all year. He knows how the Bengals like to operate: cheap and irrelevant (yet profitable!) if possible, but if we luck into a QB pay that one guy and hit the bargain bin for the rest of the team, staff, and facilities. 

 

Heck, they JUST finally built their first indoor practice facility! 

 

I predict Carson Palmer Part Two, except Burrow is a superstar, social media exists now, and players in general are much more powerful in the league. Can you imagine if a guy like Burrow demanded a trade? 

 

IMO It's going to get ugly. They already hollowed out the defense. Now they will hollow out the offense and put it all on Burrow and maybe 1-2 other star players. The fact that they made it to the Super Bowl was validation that what they are doing is working, at least to the people running the team. That was also before they had to sell naming rights to pay Burrow and before they started cutting costs elsewhere. 

 

If Higgins walks and Burrow has another borderline MVP season while the Bengals miss the playoffs I think you'll see it happen next offseason. 

 

 

I agree.  I thought the writing was on the wall when burrow signed.  The astronomical cap hits to me indicated they were going to try and make this work in a small window and so far it's been a failure.  

 

You have to let higgins walk, simply as a roster construction move.   Tagging him is just going to eat cap space in the opening of free agency and limits who you can sign, even if you plan to trade higgins.  Ideally you already lock up chase long-term but you can't pay everyone, and you REALLY shouldn't pay 2 guys who play the same position. 

 

The offensive line is not good for protection, and they can't run the ball.  Running the ball is important to winning - Short yardage conversions, 4 minute offense, play action, RPO windows.  The defense is bad, and you fired the coordinator despite him having shown on numerous occasions to be able to elevate the unit in the playoffs.  I'm not sure higgins fixes the issues they have with the offense, and limits what you can do to fix the defense.

[reddogblitz]

13 hours ago, ddaryl said:

 

 

I agree with the 1st sentence.. The 100 year sentence not so much

 

The Cotton Bowl in Dallas was built in 1930 and they still play games there including the annual Texas OU game.

[clayboy54]

9 minutes ago, reddogblitz said:

 

The Cotton Bowl in Dallas was built in 1930 and they still play games there including the annual Texas OU game.

Yes, but no NFL team would play there these days. It takes a shiny new stadium with VIP boxes, stores and good restaurants to cut it nowadays.

[ddaryl]

8 hours ago, reddogblitz said:

 

The Cotton Bowl in Dallas was built in 1930 and they still play games there including the annual Texas OU game.

 

 

Impressive but this is the NFL and its about ammenities and $$$$. So no stadium will last more than 30 years in the modern NFL. 

[Billsatlastin2018]

9 hours ago, reddogblitz said:

 

The Cotton Bowl in Dallas was built in 1930 and they still play games there including the annual Texas OU game.

Yep. And you probably could have bought an NFL franchise for the Cowboys for $500. 
 

That was THEN! Now, EVERY franchise is tagged in the Billion$ and rising. They wish to pursue every possible amenity and update to ensure maximum ca$h!
 

All of us may disagree about how competently the NFL officiates its games, how dolt like some franchises deal with players, how incompetent HCs are, but the NFL is in front of the PLANET in running a biz!

 

Shite, they’d play a game on Mars or Antarctica if they believed $$$$ was to be made!