Nothing is simple in the world of sports, and the Cleveland Browns have been a strong example of chaos since The Return in 1999. Browns majority owner, Jimmy Haslam, who also owns the Columbus Crew and part of the Milwaukee Bucks, hasn’t steadied the ship since he took over in 2012.
Even in the ownership suite, uncertainty has reared its head. Last year, Charles Woodson was announced as having bought a minority share of the team in Cleveland, only to back out due to his desire to build his alcohol
brand.
Recently, the NFL approved the ability for private equity firms to purchase parts of teams, on a very limited basis. Today, the league owners will vote on whether to approve Arctos to purchase a part of the Browns. The interesting piece of information here is that Arctos already owns parts of the Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills:
As noted in the opening, nothing is simple anymore.
Arctos Partners found a bit of NFL-related drama last month when InStudio Ventures, which helps fund Arctos, claimed it had found a loophole to be a part of NFL ownership despite not being an NFL-approved private equity firm. A nuanced issue that the NFL took exception to:
Be that as it may, sources familiar with the NFL’s private equity program say the difference between Arctos and InStudio’s position is abundantly obvious, and rules prohibit those lower-tier investors from promoting their association with the league. Everyone in sports knows how carefully the NFL polices anyone trading on its name.
Given that Arctos has already been approved and already owns parts of two different teams, it is likely that Haslam will have an influx of money coming his way in exchange for 3% of Cleveland’s team. According to Forbes, the Browns are valued at $6.4 billion, which would net Haslam around $192 million from the sale.
