A Cincinnati Bengals season ticket holder tried to walk away from the team after Sunday’s crushing loss to the winless New York Jets. What happened next perfectly captures everything wrong with this franchise right now.
The Bengals had a chance to save their season. Win at home against the 0-7 Jets, and suddenly they’re 4-4 with hope still alive. Instead, they blew a 15-point second-half lead and lost 39-38, handing New York its first win of 2025.
That loss broke something in one longtime fan. They picked up the phone and called the Bengals to cancel their 2026 season tickets. The conversation that followed was wild.
The fan shared the whole experience on Reddit, and it’s hard to read without cringing.
“I called today to cancel my Bengals season tickets for next year and the whole conversation felt super guilt-trippy and argumentative,” they wrote. “I was asked if I only wanted to be a season ticket holder when we go to the playoffs and am I just being emotional for losing to the Jets.”
Interesting post from the Bengals subreddit 😳
Apparently, Bengals season ticket holders are being guilt-tripped into renewing their tickets…😭
“Do you want cheap tickets or to pay Jamarr Chase and Tee Higgins” 💀💀💀 pic.twitter.com/LwpxekJrWM
— Mikerophone (@MikerophoneNFL) October 29, 2025
The fan tried to explain their frustration. They mentioned the lack of a real scouting department, bad drafts, and ticket prices that keep jumping up every year. Fair complaints from someone who’s been paying to watch this team struggle.
But instead of just taking the feedback, the ticket rep got defensive. They fired back with “this is the front office who drafted Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins.”
Then came the final gut punch: “The last thing being asked to me was if I wanted cheap tickets or to pay Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins.”
That’s right. The team tried to make a paying customer feel guilty for not wanting to fork over more money for a product that keeps getting worse.
At 3-5 with a brutal schedule ahead, the Bengals are heading toward their third straight year without playoff football. Joe Burrow’s turf toe injury in Week 2 against Jacksonville didn’t help, but this team has problems that go way deeper than one hurt quarterback.
Real Problem in Cincinnati Is Bengals Ownership Refusing to Spend to Win
That’s the quiet part fans already know. The money issue isn’t the players’ fault. Burrow, Chase, and Higgins deserve every cent.
The Bengals’ cap squeeze is real only because ownership keeps the purse strings tighter than most contenders. It’s not about affordability. It’s about willingness.
The Brown family has run the Bengals since 1968 focusing on spending as little as possible. Other NFL teams have large scouting departments and hire proven general managers.
The #Bengals ownership/front office will never care about the fans as long as they make profits
Want them to make changes?
-Don’t renew your season tickets
-Don’t buy tickets to home games
-Don’t buy official jerseys or merch from the team storeAFFECT THEIR BOTTOM LINE: MONEY
— AndreBengals (@AndreBengals) October 29, 2025
Cincinnati relies on family members with Katie Blackburn running business operations and Duke Tobin overseeing personnel without outside voices pushing for change.
The lack of investment shows on the field. Drafts miss, free agents avoid the team, and backups are weak. When Burrow was injured there was no real contingency plan.
Ticket prices rise while spending stays low. Drafting Burrow was obvious and not proof of savvy management. Fans see the problem clearly. The front office runs the team cheaply and performance suffers. Playoff hopes fade, mistakes repeat, and fans pay more for less.
That phone call wasn’t just about one frustrated fan. It was about a franchise that thinks it can guilt people into accepting mediocrity forever.
