The Big Ben Era

Lore & Background

Former Cleveland Browns head coach Paul Brown began planning for the creation of the Bengals franchise in 1965, and Cincinnati's city council approved the construction of Riverfront Stadium in 1966. In 1967, the Bengals were founded when a group headed by Brown received franchise approval by the American Football League (AFL) on May 23, 1967, and they began play in the 1968 season. Brown was the Bengals' head coach from their inception until 1975. After being dismissed as the Browns' head coach by Art Modell in January 1963, Brown showed interest in establishing another NFL franchise in Ohio and chose Cincinnati when a deal between the city, Hamilton County, and Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds was struck to build a multipurpose stadium. Due to the impending merger of the AFL and the NFL, Brown agreed to join the AFL as its 10th and final franchise. After Paul Brown's death in 1991, controlling interest in the team was inherited by his son, Mike Brown. In 2011, Brown purchased shares of the team owned by the estate of co-founder Austin Knowlton and is now the majority owner. The Bengals won the AFC championship in 1981 and 1988, and after those conference championships, they lost to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowls XVI and XXIII. The team struggled in the 1990s and early 2000s, sometimes called 'The Bungles.' The turning point was the 2021 season, when they won their first playoff game in 31 years, advanced to Super Bowl LVI, and lost to the Los Angeles Rams 23–20. They advanced to the AFC Championship game again in 2022 but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 23–20. The team does not have an official general manager; Duke Tobin is the 'de facto general manager.'

In Their Own Story

The stadium lights hummed to life over the natural grass pitch, casting long shadows across the orange and black gridiron. The air was thick with anticipation as thousands gathered in the plaza before kickoff. Inside the bowl, the roar of the crowd built a wall of sound around the players taking their positions at the line of scrimmage.

Reader's Guide

The Bengals play at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati. They are members of the AFC North. Key historical figures include founder Paul Brown, his son Mike Brown, and de facto general manager Duke Tobin. The team's fortunes improved in the mid-2000s and mid-2010s, with consistent postseason contention, but they struggled in the playoffs until 2021.

Did You Know?

• The Bengals were founded in 1967 as the 10th and final franchise of the American Football League.
• Paul Brown named the team the Bengals to link it with past professional football in Cincinnati, referencing a previous team from 1937 to 1942.
• The Bengals won the AFC championship in 1981 and 1988, but lost both Super Bowls to the San Francisco 49ers.
• In a 2011 survey, Mike Brown was rated as among the worst team owners in American professional sports.
• As of August 2022, the Bengals were ranked last in value among NFL teams at $3 billion.