By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Bengals are still crunching the numbers on quarterback Jon Kitna's bonus clause.

Unofficial reports show Kitna finished six snaps short of the 61 he needed Sunday to reach 80 percent of the Bengals' offensive snaps this season. It would have earned Kitna an extra $1.625 million next year.

Bengals president Mike Brown responded Monday to Kitna's quest.

"We made a deal. If he gets the number, he gets the increase in his salary next year," Brown said. "If he gets it, he gets it. If he doesn't get it, he doesn't get. The way the clause is written, if he played 80 percent or more, I don't know if it is fair to say to us if he came close, should he get it? More than it would be fair to say to him, `Gee, you just got over the wire, why don't you give it back?'"

BULLETIN BOARD: The Bengals posted a note on the locker-room bulletin board before the season-ending trip to Buffalo.

The club gave players their white game jerseys but said players had to buy their black game jerseys or helmets.

"Merry XMas," the note read.

NAMESAKE: Brown's father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Paul Brown, was the founder of the original Cleveland Browns in 1946.

The new Browns, an expansion team that entered the league in 1999, qualified for the playoffs by beating the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

"The Browns are our competitor. Pittsburgh is our competitor," Brown said of the Bengals' AFC North rivals. "We're in the same division, and if we can't turn the trick, I'm glad when people in our division do it.

"We'll see them next year. We'll get a chance to prove we've moved up a notch. I wish them both well in the playoffs."

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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