Blackburn married Troy Blackburn, the Bengals’ vice president[2], and they had two daughters together. She is the daughter of Bengals owner Mike Brown and the granddaughter of the team’s co-founder and first coach, Paul Brown.
Blackburn began working for the Bengals in October 1991. She worked in the Bengals’ front office, and she was the only woman in the league who negotiated player contracts. She liked working behind the scenes, typically overseeing the club’s radio and television networks. She is a specialist on the NFL’s convoluted salary-cap structure and has helped connect the Bengals to the surrounding community by leveraging the players’ popularity to benefit various groups in Cincinnati. Blackburn has more than 20 years of professional football experience, and she was the NFL’s first female chief contract negotiator.
