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Browns' succession plan: All in the familyWhen Ross Johnson came home from a Cleveland Indians game last spring, Dee Haslam was pleasantly surprised by her grandson's new attire.
"He comes home literally head to toe in Indians gear, and I said, 'Ross, what happened?' " Haslam said.
Johnson had been a New York Yankees fan, but — much to his grandparents' delight — he had added another Cleveland sports team to his list of favorites.
Another move — this one a bit more serious than a 6-year-old's sports fandom — was announced by the Browns not long after Ross' trip to Progressive Field.
James Wood Johnson III — Ross' father and son-in-law of Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam — would be moving his family to Northeast Ohio and joining the club on a full-time basis July 1.
The move, which was made official almost eight months after CBS Sports reported that JW Johnson had become more involved with the Browns, was hardly a surprise. Still, it was significant, since it signaled the Haslams — 64-year-old Knoxville, Tenn., natives who purchased the Browns from Randy Lerner in 2012 — had a succession plan in place.
That's a sensible decision for any business, let alone an NFL franchise that Forbes estimates is worth $1.95 billion. It's an action, however, that all too often isn't made, said Keven P. Prather, a partner and financial planner with Cleveland-based Skylight Financial Group.
"Most people with extreme wealth don't have effective estate planning in place," Prather said. "You hear about dozens of examples every year."
In just the last few years, the NFL, which bans corporate ownership, has had succession plans that were marred by family drama (the dispute between late New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson's third wife, Gayle, and Tom's daughter, granddaughter and grandson), an unclear transition (Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, prior to his health declining, said each of his seven children would get an equal share of the team upon his death) and Susie Adams Smith attempting to sell her one-third stake in the Tennessee Titans. Then there are the Carolina Panthers, whose former owner, Jerry Richardson, forced his feuding sons to resign from the team in 2009, then announced he was selling the franchise in 2017, after being accused by several current and former employees of sexual harassment.
It's not as if the Browns, with eight head coaches and nine general managers since returning in 1999, have been a textbook example of stability. But the Haslams believe that John Dorsey, their fourth GM in six years, is the right person to finally get the franchise on track — and that sentiment is shared by many around the league.
The owners took care of another critical piece of business when they officially brought Johnson into the fold. Johnson is married to Whitney Haslam Johnson, the oldest of the Haslams' two daughters and the chief experience officer at their other family business, Pilot Flying J.
"Jimmy and I have always been a part of family businesses," Dee Haslam told Crain's in June. "Most NFL teams are family businesses, so it's very normal to do that."
A succession plan, Haslam said, is "just something you do."
During an interview with the media at Browns training camp July 28, Jimmy Haslam said JW Johnson "will be here 100% of the time. We are here a lot of the time, but not all the time, as you all know."
Johnson spent 15 years as a director and producer for CBS Sports, then had tenures at Pilot Flying J and RIVR Media. In April, Dee Haslam stepped down as the CEO of Knoxville-based RIVR (she remains a partner and executive producer) — a step she said was necessitated by all of the time she is spending in Northeast Ohio.
Johnson also founded 3 Sons Media, a Nashville-based marketing and advertising agency. His bio on the Browns' website says he "works closely with chief operating officer David Jenkins in leading the business side of the organization."
The earlier, the better
Prather, the Skylight Financial Group partner and financial planner, said about 70% of family businesses fail or are sold before the second generation gets a chance to assume control. He applauds the Haslams for putting a succession plan in place so soon.
"Sixty is not too early," Prather said.
An NFL owners guide that was compiled by MMQB in July identified likely successors for 13 of the league's 31 privately held teams. (The Green Bay Packers are the only publicly owned, not-for-profit major sports team that is based in the U.S.)
The Browns weren't among the 13, though their 64-year-old owners are well below the ages of many of their peers in the league.
Ten of the 31 privately held teams have owners who are 75 and up, and 14 are at least 70. That doesn't include the Broncos, who are being run by longtime club president and CEO Joe Ellis until the Bowlen family trust selects a family member to take charge.
Seventeen clubs have owners who are older than the Haslams, and three others (the Buffalo Bills, New York Giants and San Francisco Giants) have at least one member of their primary ownership group in their late 60s.
Dee Haslam said the day-to-day production aspect of RIVR is "what eats you alive." She said scaling back those duties at the production company she owns with partners Rob Lundgren and Lori Golden-Stryer occurred at the "perfect" time.
"Being part of the Browns is something I want to do for a long time," Haslam told Crain's.
Haslam then brought up Martha Firestone Ford, the 92-year-old owner and chairman of the Detroit Lions.
"She's fantastic," Dee Haslam said. "Don't say I'm going to do this until I'm 90, but I hope I'm able to do this for a while. I really enjoy it. And I think we're making progress."
Haslam, whose father, Ross Bagwell Sr., is a cable television industry pioneer, is among eight women with a primary NFL ownership stake, according to the MMQB's analysis. She was appointed to the NFL's conduct committee in December 2014 and serves on the league's legislative committee. Jimmy Haslam was named to the league's social justice committee in January and is part of the league's business ventures, media and Hall of Fame committees.
Dee, who as a child "learned production at the kitchen table," and Jimmy Haslam have taken a crash course in NFL ownership. They "made every mistake in the book, and you learn from that," Dee said in June.
It's much too soon to know if the latest reboot will be as effective as the Haslams and others in and outside the organization believe. Another key plan — one that goes well beyond the playing career of rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield — is also in motion.
"We're really fortunate that JW and Whitney wanted to move up here and be part of something that's so special," Dee Haslam said.
http://www.crainscleveland.com/sports-business/browns-succession-plan-all-family
