Earlier today, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Randy Lerner has sold the Cleveland Browns to Jimmy Haslam for over $1 billion. Schefter reports that the deal occurs in two phases. In the first phase, Haslam will buy the controlling share of the team for about $700 million. In the second phase, Haslam will buy the remaining share of the Browns for about $300 million.
Haslam is the president and CEO of Pilot Flying J, a Tennessee based operator of travel centers with over 550 retail locations. Haslam is also a minority investor in the Pittsburgh Steelers. His share of the Steelers will be sold off pending league approval of the Browns purchase.
Current owner Randy Lerner inherited the Browns in 2002 when his father, Al Lerner, passed away just three years after purchasing the franchise from the NFL for $530 million.
