Joe Burrow can afford plenty of shiny toys with his $275 million extension he signed prior to the 2023 NFL season. Still, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback might have gone a little over the top recently with an extravagant pop culture purchase.
Below we take a look at the reports of Burrow taking a page out of Bruce Wayne’s book.
Did Joe Burrow Purchase the Batmobile?
In the premiere episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North,” Burrow revealed to teammates Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins that he bought the extremely rare Batmobile collectible.
The purchase was one of 10 officially licensed and fully functional Batmobiles sold by Wayne Enterprises Experiences. The vehicle contains a 6.2-liter General Motors 525-horsepower engine, imitation gun turrets, a smokescreen delivery system, and a jet engine simulation.
The Bengals’ team account got in on the fun, posting a picture of Burrow photoshopped into a Batman suit next to the famous vehicle.
The Bengals have disappointed in 2024, posting a 4-8 record entering their Monday Night Football matchup with the Dallas Cowboys. However, it’s tough to blame that on Burrow, who has thrown a league-leading 30 passing touchdowns to just five interceptions this season.
Were it not for a putrid defense, Burrow would have a case for his first MVP. PFN’s QB+ metric, which takes a variety of situational EPA (expected points added) and success rate factors into account, had Burrow as the third-best quarterback this season entering Week 14. One of the quarterbacks ahead of him was Tua Tagovailoa, who is dealing with a smaller sample after missing four games on injured reserve.
Of course, Burrow doesn’t play defense, and there’s not much he can do on that side of the ball. Cincinnati’s defense enters Monday night as one of the worst in the league, no matter what category you choose. It ranks 31st in points per game (28.3), 30th in EPA per play (-0.08), and 30th in success rate (54.3%).
Most damningly, the Bengals have lost a single-season record four games in which they scored 33+ points. They’re 2-4 when scoring that many points in a single game this season, compared to 57-2 for the rest of the NFL. Cincinnati is averaging 27.8 points per game in its losses, on pace to be the highest in NFL history (min. five losses).
Much like Batman, Burrow doesn’t possess actual superpowers, which would be the only way to overcome a defense that abysmal.