Michael Jordan’s NFL team loyalty revealed by ex-Bengals WR Cris Collinsworth

Michael Jordan’s childhood football allegiance was towards the Cincinnati Bengals. NBC analyst and former Bengals receiver Cris Collinsworth recently shared who the NBA legend grew up cheering for while living in North Carolina.

Collinsworth recounted the story on Kay Adams’ "Up and Adams" show, noting that Jordan’s connection to Cincinnati football came up unexpectedly. Adams laughed when Collinsworth suggested she and Jordan share a fandom.

Collinsworth described the exchange while recalling an NBC golf event that the six-time NBA champion hosted.

“So we’re at NBC and we just played his golf course,” Collinsworth said on Thursday. “We're there, and Michael was there and all the brass from NBC is literally begging him to try and come work for NBC. As soon as I walked away, apparently Michael said to the group, 'You know, I grew up a Bengals fan back in that era. And we used to watch them all the time.'"

Kay Adams

@heykayadams

Cris Collinsworth just told me that the 🐐 Michael Jordan is a Bengals fan. LFG. Who Dey. @UpAndAdamsShow @CollinsworthPFF

Jordan was at Lincoln Financial Field during the season opener on Sept. 4 as a guest of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Hurts wore Air Jordan 11 “Love Hurts” cleats and mimicked Jordan’s famous shrug celebration after a touchdown against Dallas.

Michael Jordan-backed Bengals face the Steelers on Thursday in a battle of veteran quarterbacks

NFL: New York Jets at Cleveland Browns - Source: Imagn

The Cincinnati Bengals will return to Paycor Stadium on Thursday for an AFC North showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video. The matchup will feature two starting veteran quarterbacks over the age of 40.

Joe Flacco, who joined the Bengals via a trade from Cleveland, will face Aaron Rodgers. The pairing is similar to Tom Brady and Drew Brees’ series of meetings in 2020. Those were the only other instances of two 40-year-old or older starters squaring off since 1950.

Flacco looked sharper in his second-half debut last week against Green Bay, completing 21 of 30 passes after halftime. He enters Thursday's game with an 11–11 career record versus Pittsburgh from his years in Baltimore, along with 27 touchdown passes.

His 46,731 passing yards leave him just 190 shy of passing Russell Wilson for 15th all-time. Meanwhile, Rodgers needs 115 to pass Ben Roethlisberger for fifth.

Ja’Marr Chase could also make history on Thursday. He needs 107 yards to reach 6,000 for his career, a milestone he could achieve faster than all but four players in NFL history. Chase has 468 yards through six games this season and caught his 50th touchdown in last week’s loss to Green Bay.