Katherine Blackburn (née Brown; born September 25, 1965) is an American football executive who is the executive vice president of the Cincinnati Bengals^[1] of the National Football League.

Early life

Blackburn played women's ice hockey at Dartmouth College.^[1] After graduating from University of Cincinnati College of Law, she worked for a Cincinnati law firm.

Cincinnati Bengals

Blackburn began to work for the Bengals in October 1991. She worked in the Bengals' front office, where she was the only woman in the entire league who was involved in negotiating players contracts. She preferred working behind the scenes and would often handle the club's radio and television networks. She is an expert on the NFL's complicated salary-cap structure and has helped connect the Bengals to the surrounding community, by using the appeal of the players' to help the different organizations around Cincinnati. Blackburn has over 20 years of experience in professional football and she was the first woman to be a chief contract negotiator in the NFL.

Personal life

Blackburn is married to Troy Blackburn, who is the Bengals' vice president^[2] and they have two daughters together. She is the daughter of Bengals owner Mike Brown and the granddaughter of Bengals co-founder and coach Paul Brown.

References