Charles Woodson Joins the Cleveland Browns as a Limited Partner
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He may not be Dorothy from Kansas and the Wizard of Oz has already retired (at least allegedly). That said, he does understand when it comes to football "there's no place like home" as he returns to the state where his football began. Here's a nice little article from the Browns website about it all.
https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/cleveland-browns-announce-charles-woodson-as-limited-partner
BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns and the Haslam Sports Group (HSG) are thrilled to welcome Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee, Super Bowl Champion and Ohio Native Charles Woodson as a limited partner to the ownership group for the Cleveland Browns. The non-controlling minority interests were approved at the National Football League (NFL) Spring Meetings in Eagan, Minnesota today, making this the first time a minority owner has been added to the organization since the Haslam's became controlling owners in 2012.
With Woodson's addition to the ownership group, he will immediately become an asset for the entire Browns organization and the National Football League. Over the last several years the NFL has continued to encourage diversity in NFL ownership. In support of the NFL's efforts, Derrick Heggans of Shepherd Park Sports Properties facilitated the introduction between Woodson and the Haslam Family with a lunch meeting in early 2024, eventually leading to the partnership.
"Charles has left an incredible legacy on the field, forever engraving himself as one of the greatest collegiate and NFL players of all time, but the work he's continued to do off the field and his entrepreneurial spirit emphasized what a great fit he is for our organization," said Cleveland Browns Managing and Principal Partners Dee and Jimmy Haslam. "As he is an Ohio native, we're so thrilled to have Charles on board as a limited partner of the Cleveland Browns because he knows how much football means to this community. We know he will be instrumental in helping shape the future of the club through his insight and leadership and we are looking forward to having him as part of our ownership group."
"Growing up in Fremont, Ohio, it was a dream come true to play in the National Football League. In my wildest childhood dreams, I never considered the opportunity to become a limited partner of an NFL team, let alone the Cleveland Browns in my home state of Ohio. It is among my greatest honors to join the Haslam and Johnson families and the entire Haslam Sports Group to become a limited partner of the Cleveland Browns, one of the NFL's most storied franchises," said Woodson. "Over the last year, I've enjoyed getting to know the leadership team at the Browns and I'm excited about the opportunity to be a part of the bright future for this team and to help be a resource for the entire organization as well as the NFL. I want to thank Dee and Jimmy Haslam for providing me this amazing opportunity and Derrick Heggans for presenting this rare opportunity to me and facilitating the process."
Woodson has an incredibly decorated career on the field, starting in high school where he won the state of Ohio's "Mr. Football" in 1994, then at the University of Michigan where he won the Heisman Trophy Award in 1997 and led the 1998 co-National Champion Wolverines team. He was drafted as the 4th overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft and played 18 seasons in the NFL – a nine-time Pro Bowler, three-time First-Team All Pro, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1998, NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 and won Super Bowl XLV as part of the Green Bay Packers. Woodson also holds the record for the most consecutive seasons with an interception returned for a touchdown with six, tied for the most career defensive touchdowns in NFL history with 13 and has 65 career interceptions. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
In his post-playing career, Woodson has been involved in various endeavors. He currently serves as an analyst for "FOX NFL Kickoff" on FOX Sports while also serving as a defensive coach for his son's Lake Nona High School football team in Orlando. In 2019, he launched Intercept Wines by Charles Woodson and in 2020 became the first Black former professional football player to achieve national distribution on a wine brand. He launched Woodson Bourbon Whiskey in 2020. Over the past 10 years, through the dedication and generosity of supporters, the Woodson Fund and the Event on Main have raised approximately $6.5 million for C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. These efforts have played a vital role in advancing pediatric care, supporting groundbreaking research, and bringing hope to countless families.
Woodson currently resides in Orlando with his wife April and their two sons.
I welcome the only Defensive Coordinator to earn a Superbowl Ring in New Orleans while understanding Revenge of the Nerds is a sequel. "Come get some!" -
I don't know what a minority owner does. They don't have any real voting sway, though they do have a voice and get to go to owner meetings. Having Woodson around might help with relations inside team and community, so that could be a good thing. I have no idea what sort of % he bought. 5% maybe?
If he hangs around camp and the staff wants his help now and then with DB's, that couldn't hurt anything.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn. -
I don't know what a minority owner does. They don't have any real voting sway, though they do have a voice and get to go to owner meetings. Having Woodson around might help with relations inside team and community, so that could be a good thing. I have no idea what sort of % he bought. 5% maybe?
If he hangs around camp and the staff wants his help now and then with DB's, that couldn't hurt anything.
I don't know what a minority owner does. They don't have any real voting sway, though they do have a voice and get to go to owner meetings. Having Woodson around might help with relations inside team and community, so that could be a good thing. I have no idea what sort of % he bought. 5% maybe?
If he hangs around camp and the staff wants his help now and then with DB's, that couldn't hurt anything.
Specifically make the play of our safeties better. Yeah, I can go for that too.
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I don't know what a minority owner does. They don't have any real voting sway, though they do have a voice and get to go to owner meetings. Having Woodson around might help with relations inside team and community, so that could be a good thing. I have no idea what sort of % he bought. 5% maybe?
If he hangs around camp and the staff wants his help now and then with DB's, that couldn't hurt anything.
I don't know what a minority owner does. They don't have any real voting sway, though they do have a voice and get to go to owner meetings. Having Woodson around might help with relations inside team and community, so that could be a good thing. I have no idea what sort of % he bought. 5% maybe?
If he hangs around camp and the staff wants his help now and then with DB's, that couldn't hurt anything.
Yeah, I'm not quite sure the extent either. In reading that article, I saw his son plays varsity football for Lake Nona High School in Orlando and Woodson is one of their Defensive Coaches. That doesn't mean there wouldn't be opportunities here for him to help with the secondary here and there given how early high school football starts and ends in Florida.
I'm sure he's really excited the Browns drafted Mason Graham...
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I don't know what a minority owner does. They don't have any real voting sway, though they do have a voice and get to go to owner meetings. Having Woodson around might help with relations inside team and community, so that could be a good thing. I have no idea what sort of % he bought. 5% maybe?
If he hangs around camp and the staff wants his help now and then with DB's, that couldn't hurt anything.
Specifically make the play of our safeties better. Yeah, I can go for that too.
Specifically make the play of our safeties better. Yeah, I can go for that too.
Our Corners could use his help as well. They'll just have to wait until his high school team is done playing in November - which could conceivably make him available for the last 7 or 8 games.
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I don't know what a minority owner does. They don't have any real voting sway, though they do have a voice and get to go to owner meetings. Having Woodson around might help with relations inside team and community, so that could be a good thing. I have no idea what sort of % he bought. 5% maybe?
If he hangs around camp and the staff wants his help now and then with DB's, that couldn't hurt anything.
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And to be sure, Woodson didn't buy in to be a coach for the team. I don't think any coaches pay the owner to be a coach.
If he does any of that it would be limited. It's not like he is going to show up at practice with a clipboard and whistle around his neck.
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And to be sure, Woodson didn't buy in to be a coach for the team. I don't think any coaches pay the owner to be a coach.
If he does any of that it would be limited. It's not like he is going to show up at practice with a clipboard and whistle around his neck.
And to be sure, Woodson didn't buy in to be a coach for the team. I don't think any coaches pay the owner to be a coach.
If he does any of that it would be limited. It's not like he is going to show up at practice with a clipboard and whistle around his neck.
? Are you sure - just in this 1 case? Yeah, my guess is the closest scenario would be if our secondary is struggling someone on our coaching staff would want to pick his brain. Not sure the reason always; but there's been either some epic breakdowns in that back tier or some guys really aren't understanding their assignments. I'm sure any feedback or suggestions from the HOFer would be helpful to the players and the staff.
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I read an article about him years ago. He was recruited by tOSU & scUM, decided to go to scUM because in tOSU's locker room a sign said " Beat ichigan."
It swayed him in thinking it was a special place. At the time, Cooper couldn't handle the rivalry.
He had a great collegiate & NFL career
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I read an article about him years ago. He was recruited by tOSU & scUM, decided to go to scUM because in tOSU's locker room a sign said " Beat ichigan."
It swayed him in thinking it was a special place. At the time, Cooper couldn't handle the rivalry.
He had a great collegiate & NFL career
I read an article about him years ago. He was recruited by tOSU & scUM, decided to go to scUM because in tOSU's locker room a sign said " Beat ichigan."
It swayed him in thinking it was a special place. At the time, Cooper couldn't handle the rivalry.
He had a great collegiate & NFL career
He did, however he shouldn't have won the Heisman over Peyton Manning.
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I read an article about him years ago. He was recruited by tOSU & scUM, decided to go to scUM because in tOSU's locker room a sign said " Beat ichigan."
It swayed him in thinking it was a special place. At the time, Cooper couldn't handle the rivalry.
He had a great collegiate & NFL career
He did, however he shouldn't have won the Heisman over Peyton Manning.
He did, however he shouldn't have won the Heisman over Peyton Manning.
This is going to seem like very dumb criteria on my part (because it's unfair) so I'm sure there will be many that disagree with it. Here goes - Peyton just couldn't ever beat UT's enormous rival in Florida at the time. I truly believe he would have won it if they finally beat Florida; because doing so was a big reason to come back for the 4th year aside from the reality of how much 1 more year of experience as starter benefits a QB prospect (Arch will probably be carefully advised by family that he needs 1 more year of starting experience to ready himself for the next level).
Woodson, on the other hand, was a huge reason his team beat Ohio State. Many of the highlights endorsing him were against Ohio State (similar to Desmond Howard back when he won it). I cant lie though - I was still surprised a DB won it over a generational QB. Today, I have hindsight 20/20 assisting my pov.
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He did, however he shouldn't have won the Heisman over Peyton Manning.
This is going to seem like very dumb criteria on my part (because it's unfair) so I'm sure there will be many that disagree with it. Here goes - Peyton just couldn't ever beat UT's enormous rival in Florida at the time. I truly believe he would have won it if they finally beat Florida; because doing so was a big reason to come back for the 4th year aside from the reality of how much 1 more year of experience as starter benefits a QB prospect (Arch will probably be carefully advised by family that he needs 1 more year of starting experience to ready himself for the next level).
Woodson, on the other hand, was a huge reason his team beat Ohio State. Many of the highlights endorsing him were against Ohio State (similar to Desmond Howard back when he won it). I cant lie though - I was still surprised a DB won it over a generational QB. Today, I have hindsight 20/20 assisting my pov.
This is going to seem like very dumb criteria on my part (because it's unfair) so I'm sure there will be many that disagree with it. Here goes - Peyton just couldn't ever beat UT's enormous rival in Florida at the time. I truly believe he would have won it if they finally beat Florida; because doing so was a big reason to come back for the 4th year aside from the reality of how much 1 more year of experience as starter benefits a QB prospect (Arch will probably be carefully advised by family that he needs 1 more year of starting experience to ready himself for the next level).
Woodson, on the other hand, was a huge reason his team beat Ohio State. Many of the highlights endorsing him were against Ohio State (similar to Desmond Howard back when he won it). I cant lie though - I was still surprised a DB won it over a generational QB. Today, I have hindsight 20/20 assisting my pov.
You also seem to forget that Woodson is the only defender to have won the Heisman. In all of these years, only 1 defender has won, and it was over Manning?
Naa, I don't buy it.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn. -
This is going to seem like very dumb criteria on my part (because it's unfair) so I'm sure there will be many that disagree with it. Here goes - Peyton just couldn't ever beat UT's enormous rival in Florida at the time. I truly believe he would have won it if they finally beat Florida; because doing so was a big reason to come back for the 4th year aside from the reality of how much 1 more year of experience as starter benefits a QB prospect (Arch will probably be carefully advised by family that he needs 1 more year of starting experience to ready himself for the next level).
Woodson, on the other hand, was a huge reason his team beat Ohio State. Many of the highlights endorsing him were against Ohio State (similar to Desmond Howard back when he won it). I cant lie though - I was still surprised a DB won it over a generational QB. Today, I have hindsight 20/20 assisting my pov.
You also seem to forget that Woodson is the only defender to have won the Heisman. In all of these years, only 1 defender has won, and it was over Manning?
Naa, I don't buy it.
You also seem to forget that Woodson is the only defender to have won the Heisman. In all of these years, only 1 defender has won, and it was over Manning?
Naa, I don't buy it.
Who says I forgot it? Do you think Ohio State fans like seeing Michigan players winning the Heisman? I don't have anything to do with how they vote on it and who gets to do it.
I'll tell you what else I didn't forget. UT won the National Championship the very next year with a 13-0 record behind a much lesser QB than Peyton by the name of Tee Martin. They also had to beat Florida along the way to be able to accomplish this. Both of us have lived in TN to understand how much that game vrs Florida meant every year. Nobody is going to give you those big games because your name is Peyton.
It doesn't matter if you don't want to buy it or not. It is what it is...
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Woodson also played WR occasionally.
Woodson also played WR occasionally.
Ahh...no wonder we traded the #2 pick. We already had somebody who played DB & WR.
I still can't believe that we swapped 1st round picks with the Jag's and got their 1st pick next year, and their 2nd rounder this year.
So far, the score is: Jags - Hunter Browns - Graham, Judkins, (1st rounder 2026)
BEING A BROWNS FAN IS A TEST TO SEE HOW MUCH YOU CAN TAKE -
A classy player and a classier human being. Good luck Charles!
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Woodson also played WR occasionally.
Ahh...no wonder we traded the #2 pick. We already had somebody who played DB & WR.
I still can't believe that we swapped 1st round picks with the Jag's and got their 1st pick next year, and their 2nd rounder this year.
So far, the score is: Jags - Hunter Browns - Graham, Judkins, (1st rounder 2026)
Ahh...no wonder we traded the #2 pick. We already had somebody who played DB & WR.
I still can't believe that we swapped 1st round picks with the Jag's and got their 1st pick next year, and their 2nd rounder this year.
So far, the score is: Jags - Hunter Browns - Graham, Judkins, (1st rounder 2026)
Honestly I would have been fine dropping from #2 to 5 for their first rounder… getting the #36 overall pick this year was bananas!
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Ahh...no wonder we traded the #2 pick. We already had somebody who played DB & WR.
I still can't believe that we swapped 1st round picks with the Jag's and got their 1st pick next year, and their 2nd rounder this year.
So far, the score is: Jags - Hunter Browns - Graham, Judkins, (1st rounder 2026)
Honestly I would have been fine dropping from #2 to 5 for their first rounder… getting the #36 overall pick this year was bananas!
Honestly I would have been fine dropping from #2 to 5 for their first rounder… getting the #36 overall pick this year was bananas!
In essence we traded a guy who might play offense and defense, for 2 starters - 1 on offense, 1 on defense. With an extra 1st rounder in our pocket for next year. An excellent draft day trade. Of course, a couple of days later we made another draft day trade. We're in wait & see mode on that one.
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