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When Jimmy Haslam took over the Browns as their new owner, the future looked bright. But the sunglasses came off quickly as an FBI probe into Haslam's company, Pilot Flying J, unraveled in the public spotlight.
Haslam's said he's "absolutely not" selling the Browns, but surely with the federal fire swarming around the trucking company there's a contingency plan, right? According to the Sports Business Journal, that's precisely the case, with Haslam's father set up to take over the Browns if Haslam is forced to step down.
SBJ also reports there are "no indications" that Haslam will be stepping down any time soon. However, the league reportedly developed the plan with Haslam following the April 15 federal raid of the Pilot Flying J headquarters.
So Jim Haslam II, who founded Pilot Flying J in 1958 and is now 83 years old, would slot in as owner if such an instance arose, even though the NFL, unsurprisingly, isn't willing to confirm that.
“To our knowledge, no decision to step back has been made, so looking into who would take over is purely speculative," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told SBJ. "Jimmy is the best judge of how to keep the focus of the Browns on football and the fans."
The NFL's logic (well, hypothetical logic, I guess) for not confirming the reported plan is obvious: doing so would only crank up the rumors surrounding Haslam's future as owner.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/ey...ntingency-plan
Haslam's said he's "absolutely not" selling the Browns, but surely with the federal fire swarming around the trucking company there's a contingency plan, right? According to the Sports Business Journal, that's precisely the case, with Haslam's father set up to take over the Browns if Haslam is forced to step down.
SBJ also reports there are "no indications" that Haslam will be stepping down any time soon. However, the league reportedly developed the plan with Haslam following the April 15 federal raid of the Pilot Flying J headquarters.
So Jim Haslam II, who founded Pilot Flying J in 1958 and is now 83 years old, would slot in as owner if such an instance arose, even though the NFL, unsurprisingly, isn't willing to confirm that.
“To our knowledge, no decision to step back has been made, so looking into who would take over is purely speculative," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told SBJ. "Jimmy is the best judge of how to keep the focus of the Browns on football and the fans."
The NFL's logic (well, hypothetical logic, I guess) for not confirming the reported plan is obvious: doing so would only crank up the rumors surrounding Haslam's future as owner.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/ey...ntingency-plan