Charles Woodson Faces Tom Brady Again, Now as Browns Owner

The Super Bowl isn’t just a game– it’s a giant convention, a who’s who of football money, where the members of the sport’s ownership class rub shoulders and make deals. During the run-up to last year’s occasion in Las Vegas, Cipriani, the upscale Italian eatery at the Wynn Plaza, acted as the background for one such meeting, including one of the game’s most accomplished players and an NFL power couple. Hall of Famer Charles Woodson dined with Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, in addition to their daughter-heir Whitney and her spouse JW Johnson.

For nearly 2 hours, the Haslams and the Fox broadcaster went over a range of topics, from football and team operations to Woodson’s humble upbringing in Fremont, Ohio. Woodson, called Ohio’s Mr. Football in 1994 after an outstanding profession at Ross High School, told the Haslams that even in his wildest dreams, he could never imagine being an owner of his hometown NFL group– the same storied franchise that drove him to end up being a professional football player.

Woodson left Las Vegas optimistic about the discussion. Nevertheless, he still had no real indication that the Haslams would provide to sell him a stake in the Browns and let him become the franchise’s very first outdoors minority partner in their household ownership group.

“It could’ve gone in either case from there,” Woodson stated in a phone interview. “It was an excellent meeting, a minimum of I seemed like it, however you never ever understand how someone is feeling on the other side. From there, I didn’t understand anything.”

The interest was, in truth, shared. Woodson and the Haslams sat down once again for another meeting near Woodson’s home in Orlando, Fla., during NFL owners’ conferences a month later on. The family eventually invited him out to Browns head office in Berea to visit the group’s centers and training grounds and consult with team executives and staffers. Woodson quickly received an official offer to sign up with the ownership group, a minority offer approved by NFL owners last month. He apparently paid $5 million for his.01% stake.

“I’m from a working-class neighborhood, so ownership was never part of my [previous football] conversations,” Woodson, a nine-time NFL Pro Bowler who retired in 2015, said. “However I seem like I are worthy of the chance for what I was able to give to the game. In some ways, I seem like this is the game repaying me back, and I’m appreciative for that.”

Woodson isn’t the only Fox staff member to be an NFL minimal partner; Tom Brady, Woodson’s friend and previous Michigan teammate, formally bought into the Raiders in 2015. Woodson and Brady are tied together in NFL history through the infamous “Tuck Rule” game in 2001, but the 2 remain close more than 20 years later on. He states the former New England Patriots quarterback connected to him to send out a note of congratulations last month. The 2 will defend boasting rights when the Raiders host the Browns on Nov. 23.

“Here’s two guys who entered the University of Michigan together in 1995, and here we are [30] years later on and now we’re both NFL owners,” said Woodson, who won a national championship and Heisman Prize with the Wolverines. “How about that? We’re colleagues and challengers once again.”

Woodson, 48, is the latest former pro athlete to join an NFL ownership group. His purchase highlights the league’s push to diversify ownership. The last few years have actually featured a swath of diverse leaders signing up with the league as limited partners, from previous Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes (Atlanta Falcons) to a trio of previous Toronto sports stars in Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Jozy Altidore (Buffalo Expenses).

Both of those offers were managed by Shepherd Park Sports CEO Derrick Heggans. The former NFL attorney with close ties to league owners also played an important role in Woodson connecting with the Haslam family.

The previous All-Pro defensive back’s meal into the Browns ownership began with a telephone call a couple years back from previous Arizona Cardinals star Larry Fitzgerald, who plays golf alongside Woodson every year at the American Century Championship celebrity competition in Lake Tahoe, Nev. Fitzgerald, a savvy investor who as soon as owned a stake in the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, asked Woodson if he ‘d ever considered team ownership. If so, he stated he must meet with Heggans. Right after, Heggans and Woodson were discussing possible cap table openings, consisting of with the Las Vegas Raiders, the franchise for which he played 11 of his 18 NFL seasons.

Heggans ultimately persuaded Jimmy and Dee Haslam to think about Woodson, provided his football champion pedigree and deep roots in the Buckeye state. “He’s a preferred son of Ohio,” Heggans keeps in mind telling Jimmy Haslam. “As soon as you’re that, you’re always that. … Ohio is proud of Charles Woodson and would love to welcome him back home. He becomes your trump card.”

As a part group owner, Woodson, like Brady, will be subjected to the league’s broadcast restrictions– he will be barred from production conferences with owners and players, and he will not be able to get in other teams’ centers. He states it’s not an issue due to his studio analyst pregame role on FOX NFL Kickoff.

” [Brady’s] task is much various than mine,” Woodson said.” [Brady] needs to have a lot more of a touchpoint with each group that’s playing weekly where he’s the analyst. He’s more intimate with that process, so he’s got a great deal of constraints on him and what knowledge he’s privy to.”

Woodson says his job “is a different animal.”

Being a minimal partner in an NFL team may also impact Woodson’s other ventures. He owns an alcohol business (Woodson Scotch) and wine business (Obstruct Wines), and reports have actually stated he will have drop the “Woodson” name from his scotch venture, considering that the NFL’s alcohol policy specifies no team owner can use their name, image and likeness for advertising functions.

Woodson says he hopes his brand-new ownership position will be advantageous for his brands from an awareness viewpoint even if that means potentially altering the method he promotes his companies. The Super Bowl champion has ambitions of marrying his previous and present endeavors, hoping to make his red wine company a leaguewide NFL partner, like California-based Barefoot White Wine.

Woodson, nonetheless, is pumped to be part of the Browns’ company. He seeks to contribute in a variety of methods, including with on-field matters, he says, if head coach Kevin Stefanski and the front workplace are interested in his viewpoint.

When he’s not handling his Fox analyst responsibilities or elevating his companies, he’s spending time as a protective coach for his child’s high school football team (Lake Nona) in Orlando, Fla. Today he can likewise add owner to his prolonged football resume. It’s a dream come true for the kid from Fremont.

“It’s extraordinary news,” he said. “Unbelievable.”