CINCINNATI — The Bengals have always done business in a very private and discreet fashion.
Their negotiations with Joe Burrow are no different.
Team president and owner Mike Brown, along with daughter Katie Blackburn, knew from the get-go that in order to get a deal done there would have to be an effort to eliminate leaks that lead to unnecessary distractions.
But to truly keep things private and close to the vest, Mike and Katie knew they needed full cooperation from Burrow’s agent Brian Ayrault and everyone inside Creative Artists Agency, the firm that represents the Bengals franchise quarterback.
“Joe Burrow is the heart of the football team,” Brown told me. “But I have agreed – and Katie as well – that we are not going to talk publicly about the negotiations with Joe Burrow. His agent has agreed to that and he has stood by it and I plan to stand by it as well.
“I would like to comment on some of these questions, but I’m just gonna have to say I don’t think I should because I don’t want my counterpart to say you didn’t hold up.
That being said, an agreement could be forthcoming at any moment in training camp. Would he have expected to have finalized a deal by now?
“I hope to get them all done (at) the earliest,” Brown added. “The earlier the better.”
Brown has always had the driest sense of humor for word play. He was at it again when the word “hope” was used to characterize how close the team is to signing Burrow.
“Hope… that’s a weaselly word,” Brown said. “No, I’m not shocked that this thing is where it is. It is only natural that they want to get what they can get, the best they can get. These people are highly competent. They know what they’re doing. And we’ll see how it comes together.”
Bottom line, Brown and his daughter have immense respect for the party on the other side of the table.
Mike Brown and daughter Katie have changed roles over the years. When Katie joined the team in Oct. 1991, she was paying close attention to her father and the no-nonsense way he handled player negotiations. Now, on the verge of the biggest contract ever handed out in franchise history, it’s proud papa sitting back and watching as she handles talks with Ayrault.
“I have Katie who handles the cap stuff for us,” Brown said. “And as I’ve gotten older, I’m out of touch. I like to think back when I let Katie do her first contract and how excited she was and she ran over. We were in adjoining townhouses at Georgetown and to me it was funny to see her because she was so worried about this part or that part or whatever. Well, now it’s almost reverse. She’s doing it. I am running over and I’m saying what the hell are we doing? So yes, I’m proud of her.”
Mike Brown reflected on what being so close to the Holy Grail in his last two seasons.
“Well, you’re right. We had a couple good runs. We won the division back to back. Never done that before. We went to two AFC championship games, won one, and the Super Super Bowl game we were in, we didn’t win. All of that sits in my memory and I would very much like to have the team get to the final one and win it. That would be exciting, fun for the city. It would be what our goal is.
Brown, who turns 88 on Aug. 10, said his moment in the sun, if and when it comes, will be very brief.
“I probably am different. I’m not looking for accolades,” he said. “I want the team to be awarded. If I were handed a trophy, I’d have it for about two seconds and I’d hand it to Zac and then Zac would do whatever he did. I would like that two seconds. I don’t care so much about stuff like that as I just want it to actually have gotten done. I’ll know and remember when it’s done and that’s just the lifetime ambition that we have a shot at. I would say.”
The moment taking in the glory might be fleeting but the legacy left behind certainly won’t be.
“I want it to be good for the team in Cincinnati,” Brown told me. “I want it to be good for the city, the county. I want it to work and by work I’m saying I want it to be like it’s been the last two years when it’s lifted up the whole city. It was fun. You could walk around town and you could feel it. People wore Bengals stuff. They talked about the team. They were happier and did I like that?
“I really liked that, but I’m not the one that does this. Others are doing it. We’ve got an excellent coaching staff. Zac’s a great head coach. We have good players. Our quarterback is an exceptional player. We have a shot and we’ll see where it goes this year, but it would be fun if we could put it together.”
Putting it all together begins in earnest Wednesday with training camp.
Zac Taylor will be responsible for organizing team activities over the next 47 days to aim the team toward its third straight AFC North title, something no one in the division has ever achieved.
“There’s always a chip on our shoulder, however you want to phrase that,” Taylor said. “When this team takes the field, we feel like we’ve got something to prove. We won’t take for granted the success that we’ve had over the last couple of years. We know last year we let up out of the gate and were 0-2. We know what that feels like. We know what it feels like to dig yourself out of a whole as a season goes because we were chasing Baltimore the whole year. This team will always continue to play with a chip on our shoulder.
“There’s always something to claw for. That’s the beauty of playing in this division. It’s so tough. Our goal is to win the division and put ourselves in the best position possible moving forward. It always keeps you playing for something extremely important and putting yourself in the best position. I don’t see that changing any time soon in this division. I see these teams being good for the foreseeable future. The way they’re coached, the talent level they have there, the significant players they have. That’s easy for us to remain focused on.”
Mike Brown noted Joe Mixon’s Aug. 14 court date to resolve his aggravated menacing charge from late last year, adding, “we’ll see what comes of it.” Mixon will have to take care of that after already having restructured his contract and accepted a $10 million pay cut over the final two years of his deal.
“Joe was real professional about that,” director of player personnel Duke Tobin said. “We appreciated that. I think he understood where the team was and we found something that was acceptable to both. We have to do what is best for the overall team and he understood that and we found something that we were both satisfied with and he’s looking to win. He wants to win. Very professional about the whole approach and we’re glad it’s behind us.
“I would never speak for him and what he knew was coming and what he wasn’t. Joe’s always been about winning and he practices hard. He prepares hard. He’s a good teammate. And those are the reasons we wanted to continue with him.”
