General

Bengals Owner Pays Himself to Be GM

Apr 24, 2009, 6:45 PM UTC

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â†µOne of the key demands of the Bengals in the Who Dey Revolution’s manifesto reads as follows: “THAT Mike Brown will hire a general manager, drastically expand the scouting department and relinquish all control of player personnel.” This demand seems to be a central point of anger for all Benagls fans, and for good reason -- owners should own, not make personnel decisions. You can ask Redskins fans about this, as well. â†µ

â†µWith this latest news, the Revolution should pick up some steam: Bengals owner Mike Brown has been paying himself yearly bonuses in excess of $1 million since 1991. Two of those were general manager bonuses. Of course, the team doesn’t have a general manager. This from the Cincinnati Enquirer:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥Financial documents entered as evidence in a 2007 Hamilton County Probate Court trial -- and Brown’s testimony in that trial -- reveal Brown has received an annual bonus for 18 years. â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥“Since my father’s death, that was in 1991, I have” been paid an annual bonus, Brown testified in the 2007 trial. â†µâ‡¥
â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥In at least two of those years, that bonus was a “general manager” bonus, court documents note: â†µâ‡¥
â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥1999 -- Brown was paid a “general manager bonus” of $1,237,000 when the team went 4-12. â†µâ‡¥
â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥2001 -- Brown was paid a GM bonus of $1,947,695 when the team went 6-10. â†µâ‡¥
â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥The team’s Web site doesn’t list a general manager position among team executives. â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µIf nothing else, this provides a perfectly good, albeit awful, reason why Brown refuses to hire a GM: It would mean about a milly less going straight into his own pocket every year.â†µ

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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