Cleveland Browns relocation controversy
The Cleveland Browns relocation controversy—colloquially called "The Move" by fans—was a controversy during the 1995 NFL season in which the then-Browns owner Art Modell announced that he intended to move the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from its longtime home of Cleveland to Baltimore.
| Part of 1995 NFL season | |
| Duration | December 1994–February 1996 |
|---|---|
| Also known as | "The Move" |
| Cause | Financial constraints within Browns ownership, team value and revenue losses under owner Art Modell, state of Cleveland Stadium |
| Participants | Browns ownership, City of Cleveland, Art Modell, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, City of Baltimore |
| Outcome | The suspension of the Cleveland Browns franchise after the 1995 NFL season, the transfer of its assets and player contracts to an expansion franchise (the Baltimore Ravens) that begins play in 1996, and the revival of the Browns franchise (restocked via an expansion draft) in 1999 |
Subsequent legal actions by the City of Cleveland and Browns season ticket holders led the NFL to broker a compromise in which Modell agreed to return the Browns franchise to the league. The agreement explicitly stipulated that the Browns franchise, including its history, records and intellectual property, were to remain in Cleveland. In exchange, the NFL agreed to grant Modell a new franchise in Baltimore (which was eventually named the Ravens) while the City of Cleveland agreed to build an NFL-caliber venue to replace the aging Cleveland Stadium. As a result, Cleveland Stadium was demolished, beginning in late 1996, and a new stadium was built on the site.
Since it was deemed infeasible for the Browns to play the 1996 season in Cleveland under such circumstances, the franchise was officially deactivated by the NFL in February 1996. The NFL agreed to re-activate the Browns by 1999 either by way of an expansion draft or by moving an existing team to Cleveland. In lieu of holding both a dispersal draft for the Browns and an expansion draft for the Ravens, the NFL allowed Modell to effectively transfer the Browns' existing football organization to the Ravens. As such, the Ravens are officially regarded by the NFL as an expansion team that began play in 1996. By 1998, the NFL had ruled out moving any of the league's then-30 teams to Cleveland, committed to stocking the roster with an expansion draft, and sold the Browns franchise to Al Lerner, a former minority owner of the franchise under Modell, for $530 million. The re-activated Browns acquired players through this expansion draft and resumed play in 1999.
This compromise, which was unprecedented in North American professional sports, has since been cited in franchise moves and agreements in other leagues, including ones in Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL).