Now that the NFL is in lockout, there is concern from league employees that the teams they work for may lay them off or furlough them. The Bengals are one of the teams that have stated that they will stay loyal to their employees and keep them on the payroll throughout the lockout.

During a long interview with the mothership and the Cincinnati Enquirer, Bengals owner Mike Brown said that the team's employees and their jobs will be safe.

"We have no plans to make our employees carry this burden unduly. They've been asked to do something, but we are going to keep our people under hire and support them...We feel an obligation to our people. We are not going to ask them to carry an unfair burden."

Furthermore, Brown is confident that, if the NFL lockout would last to the point that it cuts into regular season games, the Bengals are financially stable enough to handle the hit that every team would take. PreventTheLockout.com predicted in the past that a lockout could cost up to $1 billion if the entire 2011 season wasn't played.

Specific numbers released in the report estimate March 2011, the month of the deadline for a new CBA, could be a costly one for the NFL. In March, Season Ticket Renewals come up and if there is no set resolution, the league and teams can expect to see a major dropoff in renewals. WSJ claims this would cost the NFL $400 Million. If the battle continues onto the summer, the NFL can stand to lose another $500 Million on lost Pre-Season Revenue, including training camp and exhibition games. Furthermore, the report goes on to value each NFL home game at $8 Million for the home team, so thats another $64 Million lost per team for regular season games. For you Math Majors, thats over $2 Billion in lost revenues.

Luckily, Mike Brown has been frugal enough to combat the effect that losing money may have on many other teams, saying that the Bengals have built a "considerable reserve."

"Our franchise has built up a considerable reserve. We have not paid one dime to our shareholders since we've operated in Paul Brown Stadium beyond what was necessary to pay taxes…. We've had concerns for a long time that we could get to where we are now and we are prepared for it."

I guess that being cheap sometimes has its advantages.