Pro Bowl Week: Max Montoya’s final time in stripes
 Max Montoya Cincinnati Bengals 1990 Pro Set Pro Bowl No. 358 |
 Max toured China with several NFL players following the 1988 season to teach football. |
Max Montoya made four trips to the Pro Bowl during his career, however the 1989 event proved to be his last game in a Cincinnati Bengals helmet.
Less than a month later, Montoya signed with the Los Angeles Raiders after the Bengals made him an unprotected free agent. Then Bengals assistant GM Mike Brown said that Montoya had made a “moral commitment” not to look elsewhere, in return for his pay raise, according to a Los Angeles Times article.
The Bengals apparently figured Montoya was too invested in Cincinnati after 11 NFL seasons in the Queen City. Montoya, who formed the foundation of the Bengals’ offensive line along with Anthony Munoz, at the time owned two successful Mexican restaurants and had just built a house on an acre of land overlooking the Ohio River, according to a different Los Angeles Times article.
“I think they were taking a calculated risk, knowing that I had a lot of ties in Cincinnati and had been there for a lot of years and was very comfortable with the situation,” Montoya told the LA Times. “Any time you do something like that, you’re taking a calculated risk. They figured and I figured that I wasn’t going to go anywhere. But I didn’t think as many teams would come after me like they did and start swaying me with (money).”
When he signed with the Raiders for $1.45 million over two-years it was the most the club had ever paid an offensive lineman.
The UCLA standout played five seasons with the Raiders. He made his final trip to the Pro Bowl in 1993, his second to last NFL season.
Montoya continued to call Cincinnati his after he left the Bengals and then retired from football. He and his family owns Montoya’s Mexican Restaurant in Fort Mitchell, Ky. as well as four Penn Station East Coast Subs in Cincinnati. His son, Matt, worked on the latest season of HBO’s Hard Knocks which featured the Bengals.
Ohio Cards Blog 
I wanna know if Max is still with us TODAY?
I HAVE SEEN MANY WEB SITE OF AN OBITUARY OF A MAX MONTOYA?!
HE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE RAIDER I EVEN NAMED MY SON AFTER HIM “MAX ANTHONY MONTOYA”
THIS IS SO WEIRD. I AM SO EXCITED TO HAVE FOUND MAX ON THE WEB. DURING THE 70’S AND 80’S MY MOTHER WAS IN A COMMON LAW RELATIONSHIP WITH MAX;S BROTHER IN LAW BILL WEST AND I REMEMBER WHEN UNCLE MAX AND AUNT PATTY CAME TO OUR HOUSE IN WEST COVINA TO VISIT US AND WE WERE SO EXCITED TO HAVE MET THEM AND MY SISTER AND I HAVE NEVER FORGOT THEM. I HOPE THAT ONE DAY TO BE ABLE TO HAVE MY CHILDREN MEET THEM AND WOULD LOVE TO SEE THEM AGAIN. MSG GIVEN BY DAUNNA CHERIE EILAND-PERALES.
PLZ GIVE HIM MY EMAIL ADDRES IF YOU CAN
I would like to get in touch with Max hes family cousin of my mom Alice Lira or even if he can get a hold of the high school he went to La PUENTE High they would like to retire his Jersey
I went to la puente high max sat behind me in math class we were in tenth grade he’s so sweet he helped me cause am not to good in math history is my subject