NFL Defends Bengals Over Snow-Covered Paycor Stadium Seats

It doesn’t appear like the Bengals will be penalized for failing to clear snow from the seats at Paycor Stadium on Sunday.

Ahead of their game against the Ravens, the Bengals did not clear snow from the stadium’s seats, which appeared to be a violation of NFL rules that state that teams are responsible for a snow removal plan for their stadium. Teams “must” remove snow and ice from the “playing field, sidelines, seating bowl, aisles, pedestrian tramps, walkways, parking lots, etc.” before a game commences.

The Bengals said that they “prioritized” the seat aisles, and that seats would be “easily wiped off,” and the NFL seemed to be satisfied with the solution. A league spokesperson provided the following statement to Front Office Sports:

“The league’s football operations and security departments were in contact with the club and stadium personnel over the previous 48 hours regarding snow removal. The field, sidelines, aisles and walkways were prioritized and appropriately cleared throughout the weekend. 

Additional snowfall occurred overnight which resulted in minimal accumulation within the stadium bowl. Mitigation efforts were implemented to ensure the field and stadium were ready for the game. Stadium personnel assisted fans at their seats as necessary.”

But local Cincinnati officials don’t seem pleased with the Bengals’ snow removal efforts.

“We need to do a better job for the next time,” Hamilton County Commissioner Stephanie Dumas told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I don’t like it myself.”

In August, the Bengals signed an 11-year lease extension with Hamilton County to keep playing at Paycor Stadium through 2036. The extension came with $470 million in stadium upgrades, $350 million of which is publicly funded.

On-Field Issues

Fans that braved the conditions at Paycor Stadium didn’t receive any reprieve from the product on the field. The Bengals were shut out by the Ravens and were officially eliminated for the postseason for the third consecutive season.

The future of the team’s expensive core is in question. Cincinnati, a notorious penny pincher, signed Joe Burrow to a five-year, $275 million deal in 2023. This past summer, the Bengals made Ja’Marr Chase (four years, $161 million) and Tee Higgins (four years, $115 million) the league’s highest-paid wideout duo.

Before this weekend’s matchup, Burrow’s ominous comments at a Wednesday press conference added to the uncertainty. 

“If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing this. I have been through a lot. If it’s not fun, then what am I doing it for? That is the mindset I am trying to bring to the table,” Burrow said. The 29-year-old added that he has “a lot of things going on” both on the field and in his personal life.

He clarified after Sunday’s game that his previous comments had “nothing to do with Cincinnati.”

“My comments had everything to do with me and my mindset, and football,” Burrow said.

Chase told reporters after the game that, for the first time, he feels the need to help his quarterback.
“I’ve never been in a situation with [Burrow] where I’ve had to uplift him, but going forward, I might need to because he does it to me at the end of the day. And you never know what he might be going through so I might need to start doing that,” Chase said.