A Legendary Return: Charles Woodson Buys Minority Stake in Browns
Breaking News: Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson has reportedly purchased a 0.1% ownership stake in the Cleveland Browns, marking his official entry into NFL franchise ownership.
A Legendary Return: Charles Woodson Buys Minority Stake in Browns
Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson is back into the NFL.
On Tuesday, the Browns announced that Woodson has been added as a limited partner to the team’s ownership group. According to The Athletic, Woodson will purchase a 0.1% stake in the Browns from majority owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam. The sale to Woodson is contingent on him agreeing to broadcast restrictions similar to those imposed on Tom Brady, who is a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders in addition to a game analyst for Fox. Woodson works as an NFL and college football analyst for Fox.
“Growing up in Fremont, Ohio, it was a dream come true to play in the National Football League,” Woodson said in a statement. “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.”
“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,” Jimmy Haslam said. “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.”
Woodson was born and raised in Fremont, Ohio, which is around 85 miles west of Cleveland. He starred at Ross High School before attending the University of Michigan, where he famously won the Heisman Trophy while playing both offense and defense for the Wolverines before becoming the No. 4 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft.
Woodson then played 18 NFL seasons, 11 of them with the Oakland Raiders and seven with the Green Bay Packers. He won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1998 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2009, was named a Pro Bowler nine times and an All-Pro seven times (four times to the first team and three to the second team) and won a Super Bowl with the Packers in 2010.
He’s widely considered one of the best defensive backs in NFL history, having finished his career with 65 interceptions (11 returned for touchdowns), 183 passes defensed, 33 forced fumbles and 18 fumble recoveries. He is tied with Ken Riley for the fifth-most interceptions of all-time, and tied with Rod Woodson and Darren Sharper for the second-most defensive touchdowns. He showed incredible versatility during his career, transitioning from cornerback to safety in his late-30s and even making the Pro Bowl and an All-Pro team as a 39-year-old safety in his final NFL season.
Woodson was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021, his first year of eligibility.
