

Few people have been with a professional sports organization as long as Mike Brown with the Cincinnati Bengals. The 90-year-old was the team's assistant general manager from 1968 to 1990 before becoming the owner in 1991, a position he still holds.
However, singer-songwriter Nick Lachey has seen enough. The former member of boy band 98 Degrees and current "Love is Blind" host released a song titled "Sell 'Em Mike Brown" on Friday. Of course, "'Em" refers to the Bengals.
"Time and time again, we've seen it slip away, boy," he sang in the first verse. "Cause they ain't got not plan, no, no, no, no, no. Another draft done in vain, more and more of the same, and it's slowly driving me insane."
"Sell 'em, Mike Brown," Lachey then sang in the chorus. "Stop playing a clown. Quit bringing my Bengals down."
"Wins don't come easy," he continued in the second verse. "Oh, believe me. Everything that you've done. It just turns out so wrong. I think it's time to say goodbye. Just think of your family. Take your billions and run to that La Jolla sun."
"In the name of Joe Burrow, won't you take your billions and go? Just sell 'em, Mike Brown," he sang near the end. "I got Boomer [Esiason] on the phone. He wants you to leave Cincinnati alone."
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) and team president Mike Brown.It's no surprise that Lachey, a Cincinnati native and longtime Bengals fan, feels the way he feels. The team has never won a Super Bowl, and the only time it appeared in "The Big Game" since Brown took ownership was in the 2021 campaign.
Brown is the son of the late Paul Brown, who co-founded the franchise in 1967. The elder Brown was the head coach of the team from 1968 to 1975 and the owner and president from 1968 until he died in 1991. Mike's brother Pete was also the senior vice-president of player personnel until he died in 2017.
The Bengals never won a playoff game during Mike's ownership tenure until their run to the 2021 Super Bowl, when they lost 23-20 to the Los Angeles Rams. They then lost by the same score to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship the following year, and they have't been back to the postseason since.
Mike was also the official general manager from 1991 to 2013, but director of player personnel Duke Tobin has been the main roster constructor since 1999. He not only drafted Burrow as well as star receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but he has them under contract through the next few seasons. That gives the organization a foundation of talent, but it must improve a defense that ranked 30th in football with 28.9 points allowed per game this past season.