sale of Cleveland Browns for more than $1 billion

[Maynard]

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/08/02/reports-deal-to-sell-browns-complete577943/

Cleveland Browns sold, pending NFL approval, source says
Published August 02, 2012
Associated Press


A person with knowledge of the sale told The Associated Press on Thursday that Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner has reached a deal to sell the team to Tennessee truck-stop magnate Jimmy Haslam III.

Lerner will sell 70 percent of the Browns to Haslam now, with the other 30 percent reverting to him four years after the closing date, the person said on condition of anonymity because the sale has not officially been announced.

While the papers have been signed, the NFL must approve the sale. Approval from 24 of the 32 teams is required, and no date has been set for a vote because the sale has not been presented to the league yet. The person said approval is expected by the end of September.

ESPN reported the sale price was more than $1 billion. For comparison, the Miami Dolphins sold at a value of more than $1 billion in 2009.
The Browns were valued at $977 million last year by Forbes magazine, 20th in the NFL.

Lerner, whose family has owned the franchise since it returned to the NFL in 1999, first announced he was in negotiations to sell the club last week. The late Al Lerner, Randy's father, purchased the franchise from the NFL in 1998 for $530 million after the original Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens. The expansion Browns entered the league in 1999 and have made the playoffs once, a 2002 first-round loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They've had only two winning records in 13 seasons and are 68-140 since they returned.
Al Lerner died in 2002.
Haslam has been a minority investor in the Steelers — Cleveland's most hated rival — since 2008, and is the president and CEO of Pilot Flying J, the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America. He is the older brother of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.

Asked about Jimmy Haslam last week, Browns President Mike Holmgren said: "He is a very impressive man when you read about him, and people that I have talked to who know him say he is a tremendous guy."

As for Haslam possibly moving the franchise, Holmgren emphatically added, "The Cleveland Browns aren't going anywhere."
The Browns have sold out all 104 home games since returning to the NFL.

Haslam would be the sixth majority owner of the Browns: team founder Mickey McBride (1945-1953), David Jones (1953-1961), Art Modell (1961-1995), Al Lerner (1998-2002), and Randy Lerner (2002-present). An NFL trust also oversaw the inactive franchise from 1996-1998.

1 billion....wtf and lmao

about moving the team...i wouldnt say never. highly unlikely based on what happened last time around. but it wouldnt surprise me either

 

[Chrispy]

1 billion may seem like a lot, even if it is the Browns but it is the NFL

darrenrovell
Buying an NFL team, even the Browns, is usually a good deal. Why? The National revenue distribution check. Last year, each team got $171.6M.

Buy the team for $530, sell for 1 Billion, not bad

 

[Leftwich]

Shad Khan paid way less for the Jaguars.

 

[EmpireWF]

Shad Khan paid way less for the Jaguars.

Forbes valued the Browns at just under a billion.

The Jags were last at $725M with the Raiders next at $761M.

 

[Maynard]

Miami Dolphins
Purchase Price: $1.1 billion
Year: 2008

Jacksonville Jaguars
Purchase Price: $770 million
Year: 2012

Washington Redskins
Purchase Price: $750 million
Year: 1999

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8225861/randy-lerner-sells-cleveland-browns-more-1b-sources-say

The Browns were valued at $977 million last year by Forbes magazine, 20th in the NFL.

 

[steeljake]

lol... dude got robbed. Another couple of losing seasons and he could have bought them at K-mart during a blue light special.

 

[Maynard]

if anyone knows about kmart sales it would be steeljake

 

[1ke]

I wonder if Randy will spend some money on Aston Villa now.

 

[Chrispy]

I wonder if Randy will spend some money on Aston Villa now.

Actually saw an article a couple of days ago about this topic.

Randy Lerner is selling his NFL Cleveland Browns franchise but has told Aston Villa not to expect a massive transfer windfall.

Villa's US chairman Lerner has tightened the purse-strings in recent years after running up an £80million wage bill at the Premier League club.

Lerner, who took control of the Browns in October 2002 after his father Al died, is also now selling a 70 per cent stake in his NFL outfit.

But MirrorSport understands he still expects Villa to try to turn an operating profit.

He stands to make at least £600m from selling a controlling stake in the Browns to Tennessee businessman Jimmy Haslam.

New York-based Lerner has made the decision after also selling his Cleveland home once his son left school there.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footb...150?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Joe Banner is also leaving the Eagles for a role in the Cleveland front office. It is said this could reduce Mike Holmgren's role or push him out entirely. Will be interesting to watch. I think Banner could be a huge addition for the Browns.

 

[Maynard]

is randy a shitty owner of aston villa too?

i hope holmgren gets pushed out. i never liked him as a GM. i like tom heckert and think he makes some real good moves. Holmgren pisses me off because he wasted a year with mangini when he should have just started over right away. Then he brings in Mccoy and mis-evaluated his ability to lead an NFL team....plus brought on Shermer who seems totally clueless. He made mistakes that not even a madden baller would make.

then things like fumbling around the hillis situation. that was just an embarrassing mess. the finally you get to the crappy record. nothing changes.

i hope this new owner and his team can bring some tradition and winning to this team. As much as i dont like the steelers, you have got to respect their front office and ownership

 

[spiker]

is randy a shitty owner of aston villa too?

Yeah. They made an awful hiring at manager last year only to can the dude after one season. You might say that is the way football goes with hiring and firing but the hiring was a cluster fuck from the get-go. The manager they hired was so bad that his team was relegated the season before. Why would you hire a manager from a team that was relegated? Where did they finish the season you ask? Just barely out of relegation. Go figure. On top of that, he was the manager of Aston Villa's bitter rival Birmingham and the fans immediately hated him. I'm a new American soccer fan but even I saw how bone headed this move was almost as soon as it happened.

 

[JimLeavy59]

Joe Banner is a fucking cheapskate piece of shit, He would fit quite well with the Browns.

 

[Maynard]

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/sports/...owner-jimmy-haslam-introduced-Friday-in-Berea

BEREA, Ohio - Browns new team owner Jimmy Haslam was introduced Friday in Berea. Haslam was impressive in his 27-minute question and answer session, which he did standing.
Haslam was ready from the beginning, saying "The Haslam family is 100 percent committed to making the Browns a winner, we will do whatever it takes."
Haslam, a minority owner in the Pittsburgh Steelers, was also known for his famous line, "We are 1000 percent Steelers fans." Haslam said Friday, "I understand the rivalry between Pittsburgh and Cleveland and we want to return that rivalry."
Haslam also went on to say his family had talked about sitting in the stands for a Browns exhibition game so they good "get the feel of the atmosphere."
There are many changes to come. Jimmy Haslam is a business man and marketing will be a big key for him and this team going foward -- that's why he said, "It's all about the Cleveland Browns and we need to be out front of this team."
Haslam also mentioned that somewhere down the road there would be naming rights for the stadium and maybe even a uniform change or modification.
Haslam is all in and maybe his biggest statement was when he asked the Browns staff in reference to the Browns facility. "Where do we stack up against the league and is there anything else we need to be successful," he said.
Haslam also said. "There is no reason why this shouldn't be a winning franchise, if we don't, I will take the blame."
For the latest on the Browns, keep checking newsnet5.com.

 

[1ke]

Yeah. They made an awful hiring at manager last year only to can the dude after one season. You might say that is the way football goes with hiring and firing but the hiring was a cluster fuck from the get-go. The manager they hired was so bad that his team was relegated the season before. Why would you hire a manager from a team that was relegated? Where did they finish the season you ask? Just barely out of relegation. Go figure. On top of that, he was the manager of Aston Villa's bitter rival Birmingham and the fans immediately hated him. I'm a new American soccer fan but even I saw how bone headed this move was almost as soon as it happened.

Covered the manager fiasco from last year. But it goes back further with him basically firing one of the best Managers in the game in Martin O'Niell. His grounds for firing him were not great at all. It was along the lines of Martin asking Randy for more money to strengthen the squad, and Randy saying fuck you its my way or leave.

is randy a shitty owner of aston villa too?

i hope holmgren gets pushed out. i never liked him as a GM. i like tom heckert and think he makes some real good moves. Holmgren pisses me off because he wasted a year with mangini when he should have just started over right away. Then he brings in Mccoy and mis-evaluated his ability to lead an NFL team....plus brought on Shermer who seems totally clueless. He made mistakes that not even a madden baller would make.

then things like fumbling around the hillis situation. that was just an embarrassing mess. the finally you get to the crappy record. nothing changes.

i hope this new owner and his team can bring some tradition and winning to this team. As much as i dont like the steelers, you have got to respect their front office and ownership

As covered earlier, Yes. Villa is a team in England with a very proud history and was considered one of the more popular teams around. Even immediately after he bought them, they were kinda successful, but after the honeymoon period, he ran them like shit culminating in one of their worst seasons last year.

 

[Maynard]

lerner never really bothered me. he was always thought of as disconnected from the team. i just thought of him as the opposite of a jerry jones or dan schneider. so it was fine imo.....but after the past few years and how he paid holmgren 10 million to run the team and hearing all this crap about him....i am glad to have this new owner. He seems to have a passion for winning which should trickle down to everyone on the field.