Is MB Cheap really?

[I_C_DeadPeople]

(09-03-2019, 12:38 PM)Whatever Wrote: It's actually bottom 3 in revenue.  30th, to be exact.

There's a number of factors as to why.  Obviously, lack of on field success over the team's history is a big issue.  You had a down decade and the team never had a SB win to galvanize a generation of fans.  

Another big issue is competition.  Not only are they a small market team, but they are in the same state in the same conference as another NFL team. It's harder to grow the fanbase because they split airtime in a number of large in state tv markets.  They also have intense competition for merchandise dollars from Ohio State.  Most of their star players aren't that marketable, either.

Another reality is that while salaries are pretty much fixed across the board in the NFL, potential revenue is dictated by market.  No matter how good the Bengals are, they will never be able to charge the ticket, concession, souvenir, and parking prices that teams can charge in New York or LA.  Most people in the market just can't afford those prices.  

The NFL has revenue sharing, but there are still rich and poor teams. As an example, based on 2017 numbers the difference between the Cowboys with the most revenue and the Giants with the 3rd most revenue was more than the Bengals total revenue for the year.  The Bengals were $60 million short of league average.

We can argue that if he built a winner, revenue would increase, but it's a competitive industry where 31 other teams have the same goal.  Spending more doesn't necessarily mean the team will win more, and given playoff years where they couldn't fill PBS, winning more doesn't necessarily indicate a large upturn in income.  

A huge factor who omitted was franchise value. The Steelers, who  are not really in a big market, have invested (not spent) in their team success and branding so their team value is like a $1B higher than the Bengals - this is due to the BRAND, not just the local market. Mikey is clueless in this regard. The more you can build the brand the more revenue that comes in. GB is a small market as well but they have a decades old brand and they keep investing in winning football. When you hire more and better scouts and better coaches you are investing in the team not spending. Mikey sees it as spending and he only 'gets away with it' so to speak because of revenue sharing.