BEREA — Are you sitting down, Browns fans? You should be because it’s time for a candid conversation about the big-picture state of the franchise with Jimmy Haslam.
The 72-year-old owner has some good news for you, but he also has some blunt assessments he’s willing to share. And if you’ve paid attention in recent years to the few interviews Haslam does annually, you may have realized he has increasingly been calling it like he sees it. Look no further than this classic from March 2025: “We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun” Watson.
Now, let’s start with the bright side from Haslam’s latest fireside chat. You know “the Factory of Sadness” on the lakefront? Haslam is telling you there’s a chance the stadium in downtown Cleveland won’t go out with a whimper before the team’s state-of-the-art enclosed stadium is scheduled to open for the 2029 season in Brook Park.
After all, the Browns have a goal to be a playoff team again by the 2027 season, Haslam said Friday, July 31, after the third full-squad practice of training camp.
Haslam is telling you not to get your hopes up about the 2026 season. You probably wouldn’t dare anyway, not even at this time of year when hope springs eternal throughout the NFL. Well, either way, just don’t.
You’ve also heard this narrative, and Haslam definitely has knowledge of it because the Beacon Journal presented it to him: The Browns have a young team with some promising players, especially on defense, yet they’re rebuilding and really want to regain their playoff-caliber form by 2029, when the organization plans to open a new suburban stadium.
Are those types of conversations taking place among Browns brass while it charts a course for the team?
“No, never,” Haslam said. “I mean, we want to be a contending playoff team in ’27. OK? That doesn’t mean we can’t make it in ’26, but the stadium does not come into play at all.”
Contention by 2029 must be important, though, because, you know, there will be tickets to sell in Brook Park.
Until then, why not send out “the Factory of Sadness” in style?
There could not be a more pathetic lifespan for a professional sports venue than “the Factory of Sadness” going wire to wire without hosting a playoff game.
But, hey, there is time left. Look out for 2027!
In the meantime, don’t get carried away about the 2026 Browns, with first-time NFL head coach Todd Monken implementing his systems and Watson competing against Shedeur Sanders for the starting quarterback job on an offense clearly much less capable than the defense.
“Well, I don’t know about high expectations,” Haslam said of the upcoming season. “Let’s say improved expectations.”
Later, Haslam dropped a sports-betting gem.
“I think the odds are for us to win 5½ games,” he said. “I’ll take the over.”
Obviously, not way over, though.
“We want to be fun to watch,” Haslam said. “You know what I mean? We want to play hard, not make mistakes, look like we got our act together. It’s something we didn’t have the last two years, and expectations are we will this year.”
Standing next to a practice field on sweltering afternoon, Haslam addressed media with another member of ownership, JW Johnson, who may have wondered how much truth serum had been mixed into his father-in-law’s water bottle.
“I just want to say we’re not punting on this season by any means — ’27, whatever, that’s great, but we have high expectations for this team,” Johnson interjected at one point.
Actions speak louder than words, and it’s important to note the Browns have shown everyone they are not tanking. The Myles Garrett trade on June 1 caused some fans to wonder, but the reality is NFL rebuilds come in different shapes and sizes, and the Browns are not in the midst of the most radical version possible. Remember, they have been there before, and it resulted in a combined record of 1-31 during the 2016-17 seasons.
The Haslams — Jimmy and his wife, Dee — inflicted pain on the Cleveland fan base with the strategy, and the owners acquired emotional scars of their own, too.
Nearly a decade later, the Browns are investing in enough areas of their roster to avoid historic lows. They ensured trading two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Garrett netted a quality D-end, Jared Verse, and they recently signed cornerback Denzel Ward and safety Grant Delpit to contact extensions.
If the roster is akin to a car, the Browns are maintaining its body, tires, brakes and transmission. However, unless they can find an adequate engine in the form of a quarterback, high hopes are ill-advised. Armed with two first-round draft picks next year, general manager Andrew Berry and other club decision-makers likely will take yet another swing at the sport’s most important position.
So, buckle up in 2027, when Jimmy Haslam anticipates the Browns will be up and running in a meaningful way.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: By rejecting Browns narrative, Jimmy Haslam reveals real plan. Opinion
Reporting by Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
