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[Cleveland Browns]

The Browns, money, and the strange geography of NFL stadiums

Nov 27, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns fans cheer during the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Teams in the NFL can often have a strange relationship with geography when it comes to where they play their home games.

The Dallas Cowboys, for example, have not actually played in Dallas since leaving the Cotton Bowl in 1970. The San Francisco 49ers play their home games at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., which is 52 miles away. And despite having New York in their names, the Giants have not played a home game in New York City since 1976, with the Jets last playing in the city in 1983.

The Cleveland Browns will join that list in 2029, when the team relocates approximately 14 miles southwest to the suburb of Brook Park to play in an enclosed stadium with a surrounding entertainment district.

While there has been a considerable amount of anguish and several unsuccessful lawsuits to stop the move, the lure of adding even more money to the bottom line of what is already the 28th most valuable franchise in the world, at an estimated $6.4 billion, is something that owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam simply could not pass up.

There will continue to be plenty of talk about all the jobs the move will create, along with all the exciting big events that will now be fighting among themselves to come to Northeast Ohio. Concerts, which already take place, or college basketball tournaments, which are also already available, and, of course, the biggest of them all, a Super Bowl.

A similar situation is currently playing out in Chicago, where the Bears are working to move out of the city that they have called home since 1921, heading either to the suburbs or Arlington Heights or possibly 20 miles across the state line to Hammond, Ind.

Jon Greenberg at The Athletic wrote an article this week about what is going on with the Bears, and he highlighted two aspects that resonate in Cleveland.

The first is that both proposed sites lack the atmosphere and vibe of playing in a downtown location. Nothing against Brook Park, but the views from the Browns’ new stadium are going to include Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, the soon-to-be-vacant I-X Center, and various industrial businesses.

Not exactly the glamour shot that makes a visit from the blimp on game days all that exciting.

But, as Greenberg points out, owners are willing to sacrifice all that in the chase for even more money:

And here’s where you should pay attention. This isn’t about a domed stadium. It’s about what surrounds it. (An) NFL team doesn’t need a new stadium to be profitable. For the owners to make big money, they need ancillary revenue.

That’s the play here. And that’s how a private business worth $9 billion can get public money, because it’s also promising economic growth. An NFL team plays only two handfuls of home games. There aren’t that many big concerts, wrestling events, or soccer games to go around. Over the past few decades, pro sports teams have received public funding by promising to generate revenue for struggling downtowns. Now, the play is creating a zone of retail, housing, and entertainment where the team is the landlord and business partner.

The NFL will very likely award the Haslams with one Super Bowl to show its appreciation for getting a new stadium built. But how often will they really want to return to the Cleveland area in February, when the weather can make it unpleasant to be outside? And with the development around the stadium designed to keep everyone within its confines, how many people who come to the game will actually experience all that much of what Northeast Ohio has to offer?

As for the other big events, they are already coming to the area, so it is really just moving money from one part of the county to another.

At the end of the day, the Browns’ move to Brook Park is a reflection of how professional football works today: teams chase revenue, stadiums are designed as entertainment destinations, and downtown atmospheres are increasingly secondary. Fans will still show up, hoping to see victories and feel part of something bigger, even if the skyline has changed.

For the Haslams, the bottom line matters most; for Clevelanders, it’s the love of the game that endures. The Browns may leave downtown Cleveland, but the passion of the fans remains, a reminder that football isn’t just about where it’s played, but why we care so much when it is.

Source: https://www.dawgsbynature.com/cleve...ney-and-the-strange-geography-of-nfl-stadiums

 

[Cleveland Browns]

Browns: Sad news about the career of this talented LB

CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 27: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah #6 of the Cleveland Browns looks on prior to a game against the Baltimore Ravens at Huntington Bank Field on October 27, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images

Cleveland Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah has been sidelined since the middle of the 2024 season after suffering a neck injury against the Baltimore Ravens.

While obviously scary, there was hope that JOK would make it back to the field for the 2025 season and regain the form that sent him to the Pro Bowl in 2023. That hope proved fruitless when the Browns placed him on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list in May of 2025, and he then subsequently missed the entire 2025 season.

Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry was able to fill some of the void with the selection of linebacker Carson Schwesinger in the 2025 NFL Draft, and Schwesinger would go on to win Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

That sparked renewed optimism that JOK would be back this season and, paired with Schwesinger, would provide a boost to an already talented Cleveland defense.

How it's 'doubtful' that #Browns LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah will ever return to the field: —> https://t.co/ZdebZSNJyM

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) February 21, 2026

Sadly, once again, that does not seem to be on the horizon, as cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot is reporting that it now appears Owusu-Koramoah’s NFL career is over:

Owusu-Koramoah, who suffered a serious neck injury in a violent collision with Ravens running back Derrick Henry on Oct 27, 2024, is doubtful at best to ever make it back to the playing field, a league source tells cleveland.com.

It is an unfortunate end to what was a promising start to JOK’s career after the Browns selected him in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. In 49 games, Owusu-Koramoah amassed 308 tackles, eight sacks, 14 quarterback hits, and 40 tackles for loss.

He also continued to make an impact off the field, most notably through an annual football camp in Accra, Ghana, through his Natural Knowledge Wisdom Advancement (NKWA) foundation, which seeks to provide equal opportunities and education to student-athletes while emphasizing the importance of a well-rounded mind, body, and spirit.

In addition to the work he does through his foundation, Owusu-Koramoah has also been an active participant in NFL Africa: The Touchdown, a league-sponsored initiative that includes a talent identification camp, fan events, and a flag football clinic.

If this is truly the end of his career, Owusu-Koramoah will be missed by the Browns and their fans. But his continued community service to the game of football and his ancestral home mean that the NFL has not heard the last of him.

Source: https://www.dawgsbynature.com/cleve...s-about-the-career-of-jeremiah-owusu-koramoah