Bengals win over thousands of fans by making controversial move against Chiefs, Cowboys and NFL..

The NFL is the biggest sports league in the United States. It’s really not even close either. Much of that is due to football being the most popular sport in the country, surpassing baseball and basketball decades ago and only amplifying its lead in recent years.

Given how many eyes are on the league, the Commissioner Roger Goodell is always looking for new ways to continue building the NFL into an even bigger juggernaut. Of course, the sport itself is the true star, but the league is constantly evolving financially, eyeing new financial ventures and different avenues to bring in more money.

A lot of their moves tend to go unnoticed by casual fans, but the NFL recently voted on a rule that raised some eyebrows.

Allowing private equity investment toes the line and jeopardizes the NFL from becoming too corporate. That won’t be the case initially, as a private equity fund will only be allowed to invest up to 10% in a franchise.

What raised even more eyebrows, though, was the outcome of the vote. All 32 NFL owners cast their vote, yet only one franchise voted “no” for the passing of the rule: the Cincinnati Bengals.

Mike Brown, the owner of the Bengals, has been adamantly opposed to “anything that contributes to modernizing the league’s financial infrastructure” (according to a source for Pro Football Talk). That move by Bengals ownership saw fans praise them for sticking up.