Cleveland sports fans are a different breed. You have to be. To love the Browns is to live in a state of perpetual "what if" while clutching a cold beverage in a frozen stadium parking lot. But if you want to understand why the team behaves the way it does—why they make those massive, landscape-shifting trades or why the stadium situation is always a circus—you have to look at the people at the top.
Jimmy and Dee Haslam are the owners of the Browns, and they have been since 2012. It’s been a wild ride. Honestly, "wild" might be an understatement. When they bought the team from Randy Lerner for a cool $1.05 billion, the city thought the dark ages were finally over. Lerner always seemed like he’d rather be anywhere else but a football field. The Haslams? They actually wanted to be there. Jimmy, especially, is a guy who lives and breathes the action. But as any Browns fan can tell you, passion doesn't always translate to wins on the scoreboard.
The Pilot Flying J Empire and the Path to Cleveland
Jimmy Haslam didn’t just wake up one day with a billion dollars in his pocket. He’s the son of Jim Haslam, the man who founded the Pilot Corporation back in 1958. If you’ve ever driven across the United States, you’ve seen their truck stops. They are everywhere. Jimmy took over as CEO and grew that business into a literal behemoth before eventually selling a majority stake to Berkshire Hathaway.
He’s a businessman. A high-stakes, aggressive one.
When the Haslams took over the Browns, they weren't exactly outsiders to the NFL world. Jimmy had actually been a minority investor in the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yeah, you read that right. The arch-rival. He had to sell his stake in the Black and Gold to buy the Orange and Brown. It’s one of those weird trivia facts that still makes some local fans squint with suspicion, even over a decade later.
Dee Haslam isn't just a "co-owner" in name only. She is deeply involved. While Jimmy is often the face of the football side, Dee has been the driving force behind the team's community impact and the business operations. She’s the CEO of Haslam Sports Group (HSG). They don't just own the Browns; they also own a chunk of the Milwaukee Bucks and the entirety of the Columbus Crew in MLS. They’ve built a sports empire, basically.
The Constant Coaching Carousel
For the first several years of the Haslam era, the biggest complaint was the lack of stability. It felt like every time a coach or a GM started to unpack their boxes, they were being handed a cardboard box to pack them back up.
🔗 Read more: Buddy Hield Sacramento Kings: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
Think about the names. Pat Shurmur. Rob Chudzinski (who only got one year!). Mike Pettine. Hue Jackson. Freddie Kitchens.
It was a revolving door that drove the fanbase insane.
The Hue Jackson era was particularly painful. Going 1-31 over two seasons is statistically difficult to achieve in a league designed for parity. Yet, Jimmy Haslam stuck by Jackson longer than most owners would have, which was a strange pivot from his earlier reputation for being "trigger-happy" with firings. It showed a shift in philosophy, even if it was a misplaced one at the time.
Things finally seemed to settle when they hired Andrew Berry as GM and Kevin Stefanski as Head Coach. For the first time in forever, the owners of the Browns looked like they had found people who actually spoke the same language.
The Deshaun Watson Gamble
You can't talk about the Haslams without talking about the trade that shook the NFL to its core. In 2022, the Browns traded a mountain of draft picks for quarterback Deshaun Watson. But that wasn't the controversial part. The part that changed the league was the contract: $230 million, fully guaranteed.
Owners around the league were reportedly furious. It reset the market in a way that most teams hated.
💡 You might also like: Why the March Madness 2022 Bracket Still Haunts Your Sports Betting Group Chat
For the Haslams, it was a "go big or go home" move. They were tired of being mediocre. They wanted a franchise QB, and they were willing to take the massive PR hit and the financial risk to get one. Whether you agree with the move or not—and believe me, there are plenty of fans on both sides of that fence—it defines the Haslam ownership style. They are aggressive. They aren't afraid to be the most hated people in the room if they think it leads to a Super Bowl.
The New Stadium Saga: Brook Park or the Lakefront?
Right now, the hottest topic in Cleveland isn't just about the roster. It's about where the team is going to play. The current lease at Huntington Bank Field (formerly FirstEnergy Stadium) is creeping toward its end in 2028.
The Haslams have been pushing a massive vision. They recently took a huge step toward moving the team out of downtown Cleveland and into a new, multi-billion dollar domed stadium in Brook Park.
- The Lakefront Option: Renovating the current stadium for around $1 billion. The city wants this. It keeps the team downtown.
- The Brook Park Option: A $2.4 billion dome near the airport. This would be a year-round entertainment district. Think concerts, Final Fours, and Super Bowls.
This has created a bit of a rift with the city leadership. Mayor Justin Bibb has been vocal about wanting the team to stay put. But the Haslams are looking at the business model of the modern NFL. If you have a dome, you make money 365 days a year. If you have an open-air stadium in Cleveland, you’re basically limited to ten football games and maybe two summer concerts if the weather holds up.
It’s a classic battle between civic tradition and corporate expansion.
Is the Ownership "Good"?
It depends on who you ask. If you value a "win-at-all-costs" mentality and owners who are willing to spend every penny allowed by the salary cap (and then some), the Haslams are great. They have poured money into the facility in Berea. They’ve upgraded the stadium multiple times. They aren't cheap.
📖 Related: Mizzou 2024 Football Schedule: What Most People Get Wrong
But, if you value "culture" and "reputation," some fans find them difficult to stomach. The Watson trade alienated a portion of the fanbase. The constant threat of moving the team to the suburbs feels like a betrayal to the "Dawg Pound" purists who love the grit of the lakefront.
The reality of being the owners of the Browns is that you are presiding over a civic institution. It’s not just a business; it’s the emotional heartbeat of Northeast Ohio.
What’s Next for the Browns Ownership?
The next five years will define the Haslam legacy more than the last twelve.
First, the stadium situation has to be resolved. If they move the team to Brook Park, they will be the ones who "took the Browns out of Cleveland," regardless of whether the new stadium is a palace. That's a heavy mantle to carry in a town that still has PTSD from Art Modell moving the original franchise to Baltimore in the 90s.
Second, the Deshaun Watson investment has to pay off. If the team doesn't reach a Super Bowl with the roster they’ve built, the trade will go down as one of the biggest blunders in sports history.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Observers
If you're following the trajectory of the Cleveland Browns, keep these specific factors in mind to understand where the team is heading:
- Watch the Public Funding Debates: The Brook Park dome plan relies heavily on public bonds. If the state or county balks at the bill, expect the Haslams to pivot back to the lakefront or start looking for even more creative financing.
- Monitor the "Dead Cap" Hits: The Watson contract is structured with "void years." This means the team is pushing financial pain into the future. Even if they win now, there will be a reckoning where they have to purge the roster.
- Evaluate the "Haslam Sports Group" Growth: The more they diversify into other sports (like the Bucks and Crew), the more they operate like a corporate entity rather than a "mom and pop" football shop. This usually leads to more data-driven, analytical decision-making rather than "gut feeling" football moves.
- Local Real Estate Moves: Keep an eye on the land surrounding the Berea practice facility. The Haslams have been buying up property there for years. This suggests they plan to keep the team's daily operations rooted in that community, even if the Sunday games move to Brook Park.
The Browns are no longer the "lovable losers" of the NFL. Under the Haslams, they have become a high-spending, high-drama, and high-stakes organization. Whether that eventually leads to a parade down East 9th Street remains the billion-dollar question.