Following a stadium rights agreement with Paycor HCM, Inc., the Cincinnati Bengals announced that the facility, formerly known as Paul Brown Stadium, will be renamed Paycor Stadium.
Paycor HCM, Inc., a Cincinnati-based human resources software company, now owns the stadium naming rights, making the Bengals one of the few teams to play in a stadium without a naming rights agreement.
The club revealed that the agreement is for 16 years, but financial details were not made public.
In addition, Raul Villar Jr., CEO of Paycor, expressed his company’s excitement about the collaboration in a statement through the Bengals.
“Through a strategic partnership with our hometown team, the Cincinnati Bengals, we are beyond thrilled to introduce Paycor Stadium to the world,” he said
“As Paycor continues to grow and reach customers throughout the U.S., our mission of empowering leaders to build winning teams perfectly aligns with the defending AFC Champions.” Villar Jr. said.
The CEO then added, “As longtime fans, this is a big point of employee pride and we are honored to support our local team and build on the legacy of Paul Brown.”
According to Bengals president and owner Mike Brown, the move is something his father would have approved of. “This is a move that I think my father would have agreed to. He was always for what is best for the football team,” Brown said.
“This partnership allows the Bengals to continue to compete at the highest level in the NFL and exemplifies our long-term commitment to the community.”
Paycor is a human capital management company that has been headquartered in Cincinnati for over 30 years. It has served as the team's official HR software provider since 2018. Paycor recently celebrated one year as a public company following a July 2021 IPO.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 9, 2022
Stadium naming rights
The Bengals have been very active in optimizing areas for new money in the months following the Super Bowl. With the sale of the stadium naming rights, the Bengals will benefit greatly.
Not only they can keep building an indoor practice facility, but they can also consider contract extensions for players, particularly given the possibility of contract extensions for quarterback Joe Burrow, wide receiver Tee Higgins, and linebacker Logan Wilson as early as 2023.
Stadium naming rights can often bring in large sums of money for a team, and with a 16-year contract in place, the team should have a steady stream of income in the future.
“We’re a small-market team,” Brown said on July 25 to the media. “We need the revenue streams that we can obtain. The fact [is] that about 30 teams have naming rights and a revenue stream from that and they have more revenue than we do to begin with.”
NFL teams sign naming rights agreements
Having naming rights to a stadium means a lot to both the company that purchases the rights and the owners of the stadium. Forbes reported that SoFi is spending $30 million per year for the rights to the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers stadiums for the next 20 years. In Las Vegas, Allegiant Airlines pays $25 million per year.
“The NFL and NFL stadium naming rights are a scarce asset,” Villar told ESPN recently. “There are only 30 stadiums [with naming rights] in the U.S. and Paycor is one of 30.”
With the completion of the Paycor agreement, only two NFL stadiums remain without a naming rights agreement including the stadium of Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field and Chicago’s Soldier Field.
While the name change actually occurs on Friday, Bengals fans can expect more changes and branding in the upcoming months. Additionally, prior to the start of the regular season, the Bengals and Paycor intend to hold an official event to celebrate their partnership.