Haslam plotting Browns trade?

[crabbyshark]

Browns deny suggestion Haslam would trade for Titans

Under owner Jimmy Haslam, the Browns have become very active when it comes to making trades. And since they nearly traded in 2014 for a head coach, why not trade the entire franchise?

Via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, a Browns spokesman has flatly denied a report from Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports that Haslam could potentially trade the Browns for the Titans.

“It’s 100% false,” the spokesman said. “There is no truth to the careless speculation from the reporter.”

With all due respect to the Browns, it feels like a lot more than “careless speculation” from La Canfora. For years, Haslam was believed to be one of the candidates to purchase the Titans, if/when the late Bud Adams or his estate ever opted to sell. Instead of waiting for the Titans to become available, Haslam opted to pounce on the Browns, selling a double-digit interest in the Steelers in order to acquire the Cleveland franchise.

Haslam didn’t buy the Browns because he wanted to buy the Browns. He bought the Browns because he wanted to own and operate an NFL team. If there were a way for Haslam to parlay his ownership of the Browns into the ownership of another franchise (like the one in his home state of Tennessee) why wouldn’t he consider it?

It wouldn’t be the first time NFL owners traded franchises. In the 1970s, Carroll Rosenbloom traded the Colts to Robert Irsay for the Rams. In this specific case, someone more interested in owning the Browns than owning the Titans would have to buy the Titans and trade the franchise to Haslam for the Browns.

The chances of another franchise swap are undoubtedly slim. But it would be naive to assume Haslam wouldn’t jump at the chance to get the team he would have bought instead of the Browns, if that team were also available when he bought the Browns.

It also would be naive to assume that the Browns would say anything other than the suggestion of a franchise swap is false unless and until it becomes something that definitely will happen.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...eny-suggestion-haslam-would-trade-for-titans/

 

[crabbyshark]

No they won't, in fact in LA the local municipalities are balking at providing more than just infrastructure. The Rams owner, for example, will be footing almost the entire bill (he already owns the land). Simply not happening, not even legal since the Browns just renegotiated those payments under Banner anyway. One of the teams without a new stadium would jump right in, too.

According to this article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bal-modell020996-story.html#page=1

Art Modell moved the team despite having three more years on the lease. Is there anything about the Browns current lease that would absolutely prevent the same thing from happening?

I don't know what the city pays the Browns to play in Cleveland but let's say it's $20 million a year. Let's say AEG thinks they can get $200 million a year from having an NFL team in LA ($200 mil even without the city paying them to be there). If so, then the $20 million Cleveland pays doesn't mean much. Sure Cle paying $20 mil is an amazing deal but the LA scenario is an even better deal.

What if AEG bought the Titans and essentially offered the Titans plus $500 million in exchange for the Browns? Haslam gets his dream team plus money to help him recuperate from all the settlements he's had to pay recently. If I'm Haslam I take that deal in an instant. It doesn't matter if AEG is drastically overpaying for the Browns because AEG only really wants an NFL franchise that it can stick in LA. Maybe AEG projects that in 15 years an NFL franchise in LA will be worth triple what the Titans will be worth. If so, then it's worth it.

Btw, I doubt the Browns will be moved. There are other franchises more willing to go and it would be extremely unpopular. But no one expected the Browns would be moved the first time and it's foolish to discount it out of hand.

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

It is ABSOLUTELY foolish to think the Browns would move.

They have a written legal document with the city of Cleveland, not to mention the amount of public funding that just recently went into upgrading the stadium. The city would sue the NFL for breech of contract and have the easiest case in the history of the world. It would be so financially unviable for them to do that, it wouldn't make even remote success to move the Browns.

 

[Soda]

I see LaCanfora is getting his monthly Browns smear piece out.

If everyone reported on as little as he does with the Browns, there'd be such a ridiculous amount of stories in the news that we would miss half of the real shit going on. Ravens fan.. Lombardi disciple.

 

[MoFlo]

Doerschuk:

The Haslams, the DeBartolos and finding an NFL home

Based on ongoing observation and our conversations today as to what could happen with Browns ownership, here's the sense we make of it.

• Some of today's reporting has conveyed a cartoonish Browns-for-Titans ownership trade. "Trade" isn't the right word.

• If Jimmy Haslam and his family made a run the Titans, they would have to endure the complicated process of acquiring that team while arrangements to sell the Browns were made.

• Edward DeBartolo Jr., a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist in 2013 based on the excellence of 49ers teams his family owned, could become a factor in a new Cleveland ownership. DeBartolo is a Youngstown native whose father bought the 49ers along the lines of the Haslams buying the Browns … because they were available.

• Our sense of Jimmy Haslam is that he likes owning an NFL team, says all the right things about Cleveland, and tries to believe those things. He doesn't like the punishment the family of a losing team must take, and whereas he has tried to plug into Ohio, it is not home. Tennessee is home. His father played on a Tennessee Volunteers national championship team (one of his teammates was Sam Rutigliano). His brother is governor of Tennessee.

The family's truck-stop empire began in Tennessee. Jimmy Haslam has maintained residences in Cuyahoga County and Knoxville since buying the Browns.

• The Haslams wouldn't be the only bidders for the Titans. Jimmy Haslam has said the Pilot Flying J rebate scandal has not created a cash-flow problem relative to the Browns, but we surmise it has increased profits, and suppose it would be a factor in a bidding competition.

• It's now or never. Having turned 61 this month, Haslam is no boy owner. If the Titans can be had soon, the reality will be to pursue them at that point or lose the chance forever.

• If we're betting, our bet is that the Haslams will stay on as owners of the Browns.

They will not be buying the Titans. That doesn't necessarily mean they wouldn't like to.

http://www.cantonrep.com/article/20150323/BLOGS/150329786/10256

 

[crabbyshark]

It is ABSOLUTELY foolish to think the Browns would move.

For his part, Modell couldn’t help but acknowledge that fans were “stunned by the announcement [of the move].”

“Absolutely, absolutely, I had no choice, I wasn’t gonna give them a forewarning.” - P 11, FN 40

http://www.clevelandfrowns.com/2013...l-hall-of-fame-voter-should-see-before-decid/

 

[Soda]

It's one thing to not give a warning. It's another to have Greg Aiello tell people that the Browns aren't going anywhere. If you need indication of this, look no further than a $120 million investment just made to the stadium on the lakefront in CLEVELAND.

 

[CLEistheCITY]

What I want to know is what is La Confora's issue with the browns? He has been such a POS. Seems he goes out of his way every month to try and smear the browns as much as possible with little to no substance. The dude is a joke.

 

[Soda]

What I want to know is what is La Confora's issue with the browns? He has been such a POS. Seems he goes out of his way every month to try and smear the browns as much as possible with little to no substance. The dude is a joke.

He was brought up in the media by Mike Lombardi and is a Ravens fan. I'm not even sure if the guy does this intentionally (I think he does, but I'm not sure). Perhaps, he just writes without knowing his bias is showing and, thus, can't admit to it.

 

[crabbyshark]

It's one thing to not give a warning. It's another to have Greg Aiello tell people that the Browns aren't going anywhere. If you need indication of this, look no further than a $120 million investment just made to the stadium on the lakefront in CLEVELAND.

Do you have a source for the Aiello quote?

That $120 million is publicly funded. It would be shady for the team to leave after that kind of investment.

What kind of a guy would do something like that?


Here’s one example from the affidavit: In October 2012, the intrepid FBI informant recorded a discussion with John “Stick” Freeman, Pilot’s VP of sales. (Never trust a man called “Stick.”) After bragging about saving $6 million in underpaid rebates, Stick notes that Haslam “knew it all along. Loved it.”

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/jimmy-haslam-browns-pilot-flying-j-rebate-scandal/

 

[Soda]

Do you have a source for the Aiello quote?

That $120 million is publicly funded. It would be shady for the team to leave after that kind of investment.

What kind of a guy would do something like that?


Here’s one example from the affidavit: In October 2012, the intrepid FBI informant recorded a discussion with John “Stick” Freeman, Pilot’s VP of sales. (Never trust a man called “Stick.”) After bragging about saving $6 million in underpaid rebates, Stick notes that Haslam “knew it all along. Loved it.”

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/jimmy-haslam-browns-pilot-flying-j-rebate-scandal/

1) AT LEAST $90 million of the $120 million put into that stadium is from Jimmy Haslam. So, it's not fully funded publicly and Haslam is tied to it at this time.

http://clecityhall.com/2013/11/19/j...t-to-fund-renovations-of-firstenergy-stadium/

2) It has been said several times and several media members have stated that they've spoke with Aiello and the NFL about the potential for moving again. Can't find an article.

The Browns aren't going anywhere anytime soon. It isn't even a good story if you ignore facts.

Also, "Stick" is guilty, Haslam hasn't been charged. Sooo.... Credibility.

 

[theSTEREO.]

Maybe I'm just ignorant to the business of it, but why do people keep mentioning the Browns moving? Don't teams move when they can't stay financially viable in their current city? Or if they have an ancient stadium?

Don't the Browns still sell out every game? And have a pretty new, and recently rennovated stadium?

Guess I just don't get it.

 

[crabbyshark]

1) AT LEAST $90 million of the $120 million put into that stadium is from Jimmy Haslam. So, it's not fully funded publicly and Haslam is tied to it at this time.

http://clecityhall.com/2013/11/19/j...t-to-fund-renovations-of-firstenergy-stadium/

The confusion in some media reports and on-line blogs and comments sections is that some have mistakenly led people to believe that the $2 million annual payments for 15-years ($30 million), would off-set future payments of capital repairs as detailed in the remaining payments listed above in what is called the Lease Agreement’s Schedule 14(f). Or, that the expenditure of the $12 million of the current $24 million of sin-tax proceeds would reduce the balloon payments and total amount from Schedule 14(f). The fact is that the $30 million is in addition to the current $39,450,000 Capital Repairs that the City is obligated to pay. This will bring our total obligations to $82,500,000.

http://brian-cummins.blogspot.com/2013/11/browns-120-million-proposed-capital.html

I would bet that if we could see all the numbers, Cleveland is paying the whole bill. If Cleveland became unwilling to do so, there are other cities who would be more than happy to pick up the tab.

 

[crabbyshark]

Maybe I'm just ignorant to the business of it, but why do people keep mentioning the Browns moving? Don't teams move when they can't stay financially viable in their current city? Or if they have an ancient stadium?

Don't the Browns still sell out every game? And have a pretty new, and recently rennovated stadium?

Guess I just don't get it.

The Browns moving comes up hardly ever, if at all. Cleveland Browns Stadium was a rush job and is not nearly as nice as some newer stadiums. If an investment group determines having an NFL franchise in another location is more lucrative compared to keeping it in Cleveland (even if it is selling out every game in Cleveland), they have incentive to move the team.

 

[crabbyshark]

Cleveland media at the owners meetings today should get as many people possible on the record saying the team will not be going anywhere.