Boomer Esiason unimpressed by Bengals’ invitation to upcoming Ring of Honor ceremony

Few players delivered more for the Cincinnati Bengals than quarterback Boomer Esiason. Unfortunately for the infamously cheap Bengals, they appear to have nevertheless disrespected him. And even more unfortunately for the Bengals, Esiason has a very high-profile job where he can let the NFL world know all about it.

Ahead of the team’s latest Ring of Honor ceremony on Oct. 26, when offensive lineman Dave Lapham and defensive back Lemar Parrish will be added, Esiason received an e-mail invitation from the team. As part of the Ring, Esiason is expected to attend future ceremonies.

Friday on WFAN’s Boomer & Gio, Esiason read details from the e-mail on-air, revealing just how meager the amenities will be for the exclusive group of Cincinnati legends in town that weekend.

“I did get an invite,” Esiason chuckled. “I don’t know how to take this invite, that’s the thing.”

The 1988 Associated Press MVP and one of three QBs to lead the Bengals to the Super Bowl, Esiason’s invitation included only the following:

• Two free tickets for seats in the stands, with an option to buy one more
• A discounted rate at the local Renaissance hotel as part of a room block

No private flight. No seat in a suite. None of that. Just two tickets and the same offer from the hotel that a wedding party might get for a weekend.

“I love my Bengal fans, but…”

Boomer Esiason reveals how meager the Bengals’ amenities will be for Ring of Honor ceremony this season 😳 pic.twitter.com/4RNkk5jdVP

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 22, 2025

Esiason isn’t surprised. While he insisted that the Brown family ownership group always treated him well and compensated him fairly, this is what NFL life is like in Cincinnati. Just ask Trey Hendrickson, the team’s current leading pass-rusher, who is still without a new contract after spending the summer publicly demanding a better deal.

Even with the Ring of Honor, the team did not enshrine legends like Esiason and Chad Johnson for the first time until 2023.

Still, while Esiason refused to grumble a bad word about the Bengals directly, it doesn’t appear he is planning to attend the ceremony.

“I’m just saying, if I don’t go, there’s a reason why,” Esiason said. “Maybe it’s just my elitist attitude toward things, I’m not sure.”

As Esiason struggled to square his obligation to Bengals fans with the disrespect he seemed to feel from the invitation, he hatched a scheme. Living in New York for his radio job with WFAN, Esiason wondered whether he could fly to Cincinnati with the team’s opponent on Oct. 26: the New York Jets.

After all, Esiason spent the latter part of his career with that franchise and still has those relationships. At least they might let him fly for free.

“You know what would be interesting? Maybe I could fly out with the Jets, fly back with the Jets,” Esiason laughed. “Maybe Aaron Glenn would let me tag along.”