Bengals sell stadium name rights to Paycor: Why only two NFL stadiums remain without corporate sponsor

When the Bengals unveiled their new stadium in 2000, the name was announced as Paul Brown Stadium, named after the team’s founder. On Tuesday, the team announced that the end of an era had come.

The Bengals announced that the stadium would be renamed Paycor Stadium as Paycor HCM, a Cincinnati-based human capital management company, had expanded its partnership with the team to include stadium naming rights.

“Through a strategic partnership with our home club, the Cincinnati Bengals, we are beyond excited to introduce Paycor Stadium to the world,” announced Raul Villar Jr., CEO of Paycor, of the Bengals. “As Paycor continues to grow and reach customers across the United States, our mission to empower leaders to build winning teams aligns perfectly with the defending AFC champions. As longtime fans, this is a huge source of pride for our staff and we are honored to support our local team and build on the legacy of Paul Brown.”

There are now only two NFL stadiums that have not signed a naming rights deal with a company: Lambeau Field in Green Bay and Soldier Field in Chicago. Here’s a look at why teams, now including the Bengals, have signed deals for stadium naming rights in recent years.

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Why NFL teams sign naming rights deals

It’s all about the money. Having the naming rights to a stadium means a lot to both the company buying the rights and the stadium owners.

According to Forbes, SoFi will pay $30 million a year for the next 20 years to acquire the rights to Rams and Chargers Stadium in Los Angeles. Allegiant Airlines pays $25 million a year in Las Vegas.

Not every naming rights deal brings in as much money, but they serve as an additional source of income for teams. This money can help pay for stadium construction or renovations, make room for payroll, or simply line owners’ pockets.

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Why the Bengals have a new stadium name

Cincinnati is in the national spotlight for the first time in a long time after reaching Super Bowl 56 behind first overall winner of 2020 Joe Burrow and a young, exciting core. Ownership clearly wants to make an effort to keep this team competitive for years to come.

The Bengals have essentially been a family business since their existence. Paul Brown founded the team and remained the team’s owner and president until his death in 1991. His son Mike Brown succeeded him as owner and president of the team. His daughter, Katie Blackburn, is the team’s executive vice president and her husband, Troy Blackburn, is vice president. Her two daughters also work in the team’s front office.

But with the Brown family not having any major business interests on the side, Mike Brown hasn’t always had the greatest financial flexibility to pay for on-field talent. Pro Football Network ranked him the 30th wealthiest owner in the NFL, ahead only of Raiders’ Mark Davis and the Packers’ lack of an official owner (they are owned by a number of shareholders). His net worth was reported as $925 million.

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The sale of the stadium naming rights gives the Bengals a big income boost that they can capitalize on as they continue to build an indoor practice facility and eye potential contract renewals for players like Burrow, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, wide receiver Tee Higgins and others . Stadium naming rights can often net a team enormous amounts of money and with a 16 year contract there should be a steady stream of income for the team to move forward.

“It’s a move I think my dad would have approved of. He was always for what was best for the football team,” Mike Brown said in the press release. “This partnership allows the Bengals to continue competing at the highest level in the NFL and demonstrates our long-term commitment to the community.”

Will the Packers or Bears rename their stadium?

With the Packers, it’s unlikely anytime soon. It’s a little more likely with the bears.

The Packers are publicly owned and heavily funded. Back in 2015, team president Mark Murphy said during a shareholders’ meeting that the naming rights to Lambeau Field, named after the team’s founder and longtime coach Curly Lambeau, would “never” be sold.

“We will not sell the naming rights for the stadium. … We will never do that. It will always be Lambeau Field,” Murphy had said.

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The bears, however, are a different story. Soldier Field, named after soldiers who died in World War I, is likely to undergo a major renovation soon. The City of Chicago recently unveiled three proposals to renovate the facility, with a focus on making it a domed stadium that may be better suited for year-round use.

However, the proposals come at a cost. The city announced the cost could range from $900 million to $2.2 billion. Potential actions listed that could provide new amenities included “dramatically expanding the opportunity for major sponsorships and naming rights.” The idea for the naming rights would likely involve keeping “Soldier Field” but adding a corporate sponsor to the name, perhaps modeled on the Broncos’ Empower Field at Mile High.

However, the idea of ​​renaming the stadium was not well received. Former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn introduced a citizens’ ordinance to prevent the naming rights from being sold.

“The overwhelming majority of Chicagoans will say ‘no’ to selling the Soldier Field naming rights or appending the Soldier Field name to ‘Commonwealth Edison Park at Soldier Field’ or ‘Amazon Stadium at Soldier Field.’ It’s sacrilege to do that,” Quinn said, according to ABC7 Chicago.

“The people of Chicago don’t want their war memorial attached to a company name for money. It’s just not right. We are Chicago. And we are Soldier Field. We are not Jacksonville company name…to a war memorial. It’s a desecration.”