DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Browns layoff 18 people, possibly 22 more...

I am sure the Browns are....but that doesn't mean there are shareholders....even though there probably at least 2-3.


You don't have to offer shares to incorporate.

I thought you had to offer shares? no?

I was pretty sure there were shareholders if you're incorporated, it just doesn't have to be publicly held.

Actually the Browns are a limited liability company.

I know the NFLPA would have a say in this, but isn't it about time we quit paying athletes millions of dollars a year to play a game?

I know these athletes bring revenue in, but come on, how much do you really need. These millionaires are charging promoters big bucks to get them to sign for an hour or so. And they in turn have no choice but to charge 60 bucks a pop for a sig.

And if you catch them alone out and about they don't want to sign because they think you will make a whole 20 buck profit on ebay selling their sig while they make millions per year.

I am really starting to hate on professional sports. I am really looking to follow high school sports. No money involved, just playing for the love.

To lay off employees that make a drop in the bucket compared to paying someone like Braylon who can't do his job is crazy.

If I performed at my job like Braylon, I would have been laid off ( an excuse to get rid of the underperforming employees to a measure).

I'm really starting to hate on pro athletes.
Greedy sob's.
Sorry to go kinda off topic.

You're not going to spend a dime on them?

So they lay off more the next time around?

Look, salaries increased, the cap is raised, and Lerner has kept ticket prices as one of the lowest in the NFL.

While other teams charge a lot more, Randy hasn't gotten to that point with our tickets.

Layoffs have happened in other sports franchises. The AFL closed down. Businesses all across the country are closing or laying off. Do you think The Browns are immune to it?

jc There have been numerous posts here about how the Browns are dysfunctional from the top down. If it needs to be fixed, then we shouldn't complain when an attempt is made. We don't know jack about the function or performance of those let go. Blaming the economy and laying people off is better than just firing somebody....they'll have a much easier time getting unemployment.

Layoffs reveal priorities

Million-dollar salaries, pricey extras aren't signs of team strapped for cash

By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist

Published on Sunday, Jan 25, 2009


There's no disputing the reality that economic times are difficult.

When Microsoft announces it will lay off 5,000 people the day after the Browns get rid of 15 . . . well . . . things are difficult.

The Browns are not immune, but the cutbacks sure seem tougher to take from the local football team.

It just seems so disappointing in a sport in which TV contracts are worth billions of dollars.

Yes, Randy Lerner deserves the right to run his team as he wishes.

Yes, many other businesses are facing cutbacks.

No, I do not have all the financial details.

But these moves speak to judgment and to leadership and to priorities. And they speak to decisions. In a business in which players are paid what they are and coaches make what they do, it boggles the mind to think that people making $50,000 or $60,000 can have any effect on the bottom line.

The people who were fired by the Browns this past week are our neighbors and friends and, in some cases, our families.

They worked for the Browns because it was a job, and also because it was the Browns and the orange helmet stood for something. At least it used to.

These are real people with babies on the way and young children and children in college. They came to work Wednesday and were blindsided, then told they had 10 minutes to clean out their desks.

Among those released include Ed Suggs (youth development director), Lorne Novick (legal counsel), Carla Davis (whose days go back to the Cleveland Browns Trust), Ken Mather (director of media information), Beth Malafa (events and special projects manager), Steve King (Internet writer and resident Browns historian), Chetan Tanna (senior manager for information technology), Dena Squire (accounts payable coordinator), Brendan Rowe (director of team operations), Cathy Slezak (executive assistant for team operations), Seth Hall (fan relations), Russ Digney (assistant groundskeeper), Justin Harbaugh (art director) and Angel Morales (security manager).

All contributed to the team, but none had a thing to do with coaching the players or playing the games. All merely worked their hardest to make sure the team functioned as best it could.

The Browns have not won, and a disconnect seems to be growing between the fans and the community.

So a team that suffers because it can't put a winning team together in tough economic times responds by taking people's jobs.

Readers have written and asked: Why does it matter? These people don't make the difference between winning and losing.

Well, the way people are treated matters. If it didn't matter, we wouldn't teach our kids manners.

The better a business treats its employees, the more the people will respond.

The difference with the Browns is that people also responded because it's the Browns. Those fired dreamt of working for the Browns — then were shown the door while players who make millions demand more.

Any winning team needs support inside the building, and it needs competent people doing those jobs. Eliminating them like disposable pieces cuts at the team fabric.

These individuals returned to their families and neighborhoods Wednesday without jobs. The team did pay severance, and it surely protected itself with a ''no criticism'' clause, but it doesn't change the reality of what happened.

No doubt they greeted family with some blank stares, worries and confused looks.

Any move like this chips away at the bond between a team and its fans — and the last thing the Browns need now is anything that will chip away at this bond.

The Browns have lost an entire generation of young people because of the constant struggles that go back to the 1990s. The new generation sees more problems — and wonders why their fathers were dismissed when they were working so hard.

Yes, times are tough — and making these decisions is not easy.

But there are other options besides outright firing people, options that take on new meaning in tough times. Options like temporary salary cuts, a weeklong furlough, voluntary givebacks. And perhaps flat-out common-sense decisions.

Why not ask everyone with the team who can to give back? Think about it: Would you want to root for a team if the coaches protected their several-hundred-thousand-dollar salaries at the expense of an individual losing his or her job?

A team that feeds its players breakfast and lunch in gourmet style can't afford these salaries?

A team that pays $20 million for a fired coach and general manager has to make these cuts?

A team that goes to the absurd length of providing valet parking for players wipes a person's job away?

A team that chartered two planes to take sponsors to an away game last year, then wound up with half-empty planes because it didn't take the sponsors, turns and shoves a trusted employee out the door?

People will have to be re-hired for some of these jobs. The team will need a media relations director and someone to run team operations. Is that the economy?

It doesn't add up.

New coach Eric Mangini is entitled to do things his way, and he deserves a fair chance. But when he's complaining because he doesn't like the look of the building's interior and demanding it be painted and it's done without question while people are losing their jobs, the priorities seem skewed.

This team needs to build good will, not chip away at it.

The Browns could be responsible for the league strengthening the criteria of the Rooney Rule, because the team interviewed defensive coordinator Mel Tucker while stating it wanted an experienced head coach. There are rumblings the interview lasted less than an hour.

The other night at the Cleveland Sports Awards banquet, Mangini and defensive tackle Shaun Rogers crossed paths without a greeting.

Apparently, the Pro Bowl defensive tackle had never met Mangini, and even though the two had a chance to shake hands, they walked within a few feet of each other and said nothing.

The Browns are painting walls and painting over murals of their hall of famers and discussing ways to stop information from getting to the media — which in turn keeps information from reaching the public.

The Browns talk about treating former assistant coaches well, but the first two days after Mangini was hired, they were told not to come to the building. They couldn't come in the building even though they were under contract — and in some cases held to that contract and unable to interview for new jobs.

The Super Bowl will be played in a week. Nine of the coaches in the game were fired by the Browns, including Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt.

So were two coordinators: Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians and Cardinals defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast.

Others include Billy Davis, Maurice Carthon and John Lott of the Cardinals, and Larry Zierlein, Ray Jackson and Keith Butler of the Steelers.

Meanwhile, the Browns have rehired a coach they fired a few years ago. Carl Smith is a good coach, but was he a bad one a few years ago?

One assistant coach in the league said the Browns keep changing things around every couple of years, which keeps the fans believing things are getting better.

That perpetuates the problems, because it always involves starting over.

That means things get no better, which prompts another restart.

Dante Lavelli, a Browns hall of famer, died Tuesday night. By week's end, the team had not released a single statement on his death. A call about Lavelli from a Beacon Journal reporter was not returned.

They did have a story on the Internet about Lavelli. It was written by Steve King. He wrote it Tuesday night, then was laid off Wednesday morning.

At every home game in the press box, the team announces its attendance.

Reporters can see empty seats in the stadium, but without fail, the Browns announce a sellout of 70-something-thousand ''tickets distributed.''

Tickets distributed.

You wonder whether people will ever realize they're being distributed a bill of goods.


Patrick McManamon can be reached at [Email]pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com.[/Email] Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/

I realize that Pat Mac left the Browns as a writer under less than pleasant terms and some of this is surely sour grapes......but a good deal of it really burns my ass if it's truthful.

Then your ass should be on fire.

Quote:

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The people who were fired by the Browns this past week are our neighbors and friends and, in some cases, our families.

They worked for the Browns because it was a job, and also because it was the Browns and the orange helmet stood for something. At least it used to.

These are real people with babies on the way and young children and children in college. They came to work Wednesday and were blindsided, then told they had 10 minutes to clean out their desks.

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First, the above could apply to any business that lays people off and rarely if ever does the media say a word about those people being laid off.

I wish Pat Mac felt that way about everyone that is laid off...maybe he does, but just doesn't say it...who knows.

I don't like to see anyone laid off from any job and by all means, it's great to have someone with a platform speaking out on your behalf.

If these jobs remain unfilled, we will know that Randy Lerner has been reduced to finally pinching pennies just as many are doing during this recession.

But, if these jobs begin to be filled by the friends and relatives of the new staff....that will STINK.

I never want to see anyone laid off but sometimes it is necessary. I just wish everyone felt like Pat Mac when comes to "anyone" who is laid off.

I don't think many like to see people lose a job.

As to if they are filled or not, if they are, that doesn't bother me as that is good for those people.

Actually, I hope they are filled in all or to some degree.

The NFL isn't immune to what is sweeping the world right now.

If it continues a few years, we might even see a few teams fold. and some very major changes in TV contracts, player contracts, and ticket pricing.

We have 14 or 15 people or brokers trying to sell off seats on ebay....not many bidders....I may take a peek at some other teams.

Right now all sports teams are very afraid their fan base is no longer going to be able to afford the product.

Right now I would bet there are many top level meeting between owners and the league trying to get a handle on season ticket renewals. They haven't sent out invoices yet...at least we haven't...I wonder how many people are going to just let the tickets go because they can't afford them anymore and can't find a buyer for the PSL??

JC..

I keep seeing some people say "but they sell out every game"

Well lets look at that.

Avg ticket we'll say is $80 ( think $65 is probably closer)

$80 x 50,000 seast = 4,000,000/game x 8 home games = 32 million

That doesn't even cover the salary for the team. Not to mention the staff at the games, the food, the lights, the water bills, the security, the upkeep on the field and the stadium.

The real money comes from merchandise sales, and TV contracts.

Merchandise sales are most likely down with all people out of work.

Quote:

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I still don't understand why the HC is worried about fresh paint, but knowing that the murals were moved and not painted over eases my mind.

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Because a fresh start means a FRESH START. Change the paint, change the carpet, change the signs in the weight room, move the players lockers around, reassign parking spaces. You want to do everything you can to tell the team, "This isn't business as usual any more."

Personally I'm glad he's detail oriented enough to be concerned with the paint on the walls.

Jets Employees To Take 2-Week Unpaid Leaves

Owner Johnson Avoids Layoffs By Instituting June-July Vacations For 50 Employees On Business Side

NEW YORK (AP) ―


The New York Jets told employees on the business side of the team's operations Thursday that they must take two weeks of unpaid leave this offseason in an effort to withstand the sagging economy.

Rather than cut jobs, as several other teams and the league office have done in recent weeks, owner Woody Johnson approved a plan that requires approximately 50 employees to take furloughs during a four-week period in late-June and early July, Matt Higgins, the team's executive vice president of business operations, told The Associated Press.

The departments affected include marketing, media relations, finance and business operations. Employees on the football side, such as general manager Mike Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan, aren't included in the plan because those departments are making reductions to their operating expenses.

"Like every other business in America, we're facing challenges and trying to weather those challenges," Higgins said. "We're implementing a furlough plan that reflects the fact that our business is seasonal. We really wanted to do everything possible to preserve jobs and keep our team together."

Johnson worked with Higgins, Thad Sheely, the Jets' executive vice president of stadium development and finance, and several others on the plan.

"Woody, myself and Thad, we all felt it was important to keep everyone employed from a humanitarian standpoint," Higgins said. "There's a sense of esprit de corps we'll all work together on this. ... I don't want to speak for everybody, but by and large, the decision has been received positively."

Last week, the NFL announced that it had reduced its staff by 15 percent and commissioner Roger Goodell took a 20-25 percent pay cut. Meanwhile, teams such as Cleveland, Washington, Indianapolis and Carolina have cut jobs during the tough economic times.

"We all needed to make a sacrifice collectively so we can keep the team together," Higgins said. "We considered layoffs, but we felt we were at a unique crossroads."

Higgins said the team is "relatively weathering" the struggling economy after relocating its headquarters to Florham Park, N.J., last fall and having the prospects of a new shared stadium with the Giants opening in 2010. The team is also encouraged by its personal seat license program and several long-term sponsorships for its facility and stadium.

The Jets have spent big bucks on high-priced players the last two offseasons, including doling out $140 million last winter and signing linebacker Bart Scott to a six-year, $48 million deal last week. Higgins didn't think there would be any backlash from employees or the public because of the spending on the field.

"The object of the football team is to win on the field, and you know what it takes and I think everyone understands that," he said. "We're all here to win."

I have always wondered why white collar jobs aren't usually dealt with much like many blue collar jobs.

It seems the white collars just get slashed rather than cut back. They never seem to be dealt with by reducing hours or having a unscheduled shut down much as the Jets are doing. It always seems to be a all or nothing proposition.

You could put people on 3 day work weeks which would save 40% in payroll. You could still staff the place 5 days a week under such a plan.

I would also like to see unemployment changed so if companies took such a position as a temporary means, the people on reduced hours could receive some type of benefit to help make up a portion of the lost wages....say maybe 25% of that.

Using such a method, state unemployment funds wouldn't be depleted nearly as quickly, and people wouldn't just be out of a job.

Business would benefit in hard times, taxpayers would benefit, and cut people would benefit. Most people could manage to get by losing what would amount to 12 hours pay a week. At least a lot better than what happens now.

There are a lot of things we could do in this country if we would just think out of the box every once in a while..