Michael "Mike" Brown (born 1937) is the owner of the Cincinnati Bengals, an American football team in the National Football League. He is the son of former Cleveland Browns, Ohio State University and Cincinnati Bengals coach/co-founder, Paul Brown.
Brown's ownership has been criticized for a lack of on-field success, his refusal to cede football operations to a general manager and the team's relationship with Hamilton County before and after a voter-approved tax increase to fund Paul Brown Stadium.
He is one of two sons by Paul Brown. (His brother, Pete, is currently the Senior Vice-President of Bengals' player personnel.) He studied law and was the football team's quarterback at Dartmouth College, graduating in 1957. In an unusual meeting between future sports owners, eventual New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner hired him to a summer job as a deck hand for Kinsman Marine Transit Company.
Brown eventually followed his father into football management. Paul Brown founded the Bengals, then an American Football League team, in 1968. (This was several years after Paul Brown was dismissed as Cleveland Browns head coach in a well-publicized falling out with Art Modell). Mike Brown began his executive duties with the Bengals as assistant general manager. Along with personnel decisions, he was a spokesperson for the team on issues of league rules and team policy.
