Cincinnati Reds or Cincinnati Bengals: Who wins a championship first?

Bob Castellini vs. Mike Brown

Unfortunately, for Cincinnati sports fans, both the owners of the Reds and Bengals have not been the best over the years. Bob Castellini, who took over the Reds in 2006, has seen moderate success since taking over as Chief Executive Officer. Mike Brown, who’s owned the Bengals since 1991, has seen more lows than highs.

Both Castellini and Brown have been accused of being extremely frugal. To be fair, we’ve seen both owners dish out a good amount of money in the past. At the time of his extension, Carson Palmer signed a six-year extension in 2005, earning him a contract worth $118.75M. At the time Joey Votto signed his $251.5M extension, it was the longest guaranteed contract in MLB history.

So, to say that Castellini and Brown don’t spend money isn’t entirely accurate. Now, what is true, is that it’s extremely rare to see either owner invest heavily in free agent talent. Until this winter, the Reds always seemed to scoop up bargain-basement talent. The Bengals have made a few good signings over the years, but the signings of John Thornton and Tory James are in the past.

Going forward, it seems as though Bob Castellini sees the writing on the wall and wants to seize control of the NL Central. We’ve seen the Reds spend $164M on free agents this offseason. Castellini has opened up his wallet, which is something we’ve rarely seen from Mike Brown. The Reds have a clear advantage here.

Advantage: Reds