CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns on Tuesday welcomed former Mr. Football in Ohio and Hall of Fame defensive back Charles Woodson as a limited partner.
A native of Fremont, Ohio 90 miles west of Cleveland, Woodson purchased a 0.1% stake worth about $5 million in the Browns, who are valued at about $5 billion. The non-controlling minority interests were approved at the NFL Spring Meetings in Eagan, Minn., making him the club’s first minority owner since the Haslams purchased the team in 2012.
News of the limited partnership was first reported on Thursday.
Over the last several years, the NFL has ramped up efforts to encourage diversity in NFL ownership. Toward that endeavor, Derrick Heggans of Shepherd Park Sports Properties introduced Woodson to the Haslam family at a lunch meeting in early 2024, which resulted in the partnership.
“Growing up in Fremont, Ohio, it was a dream come true to play in the National Football League,” Woodson, 48, said in a release. “In my wildest childhood dreams, I never considered the opportunity to become a limited partner of an NFL team, let alone the Cleveland Browns in my home state of Ohio. It is among my greatest honors to join the Haslam and Johnson families and the entire Haslam Sports Group to become a limited partner of the Cleveland Browns, one of the NFL’s most storied franchises.
“Over the last year, I’ve enjoyed getting to know the leadership team at the Browns and I’m excited about the opportunity to be a part of the bright future for this team and to help be a resource for the entire organization as well as the NFL. I want to thank Dee and Jimmy Haslam for providing me this amazing opportunity and Derrick Heggans for presenting this rare opportunity to me and facilitating the process.”
The 1994 “Mr. Football” in Ohio from Fremont’s Ross High, Woodson plans to become an immediate asset and resource for the Browns and the NFL. Like Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, who owns a 5% stake in that franchise, Woodson, a college and NFL analyst for Fox Sports, must agree to certain broadcasting restrictions and must also remove his name, image and likeness from businesses he’s involved in.
But the Browns are eager to have him take an active role in the club, like Brady does for the Raiders.
“Charles has left an incredible legacy on the field, forever engraving himself as one of the greatest collegiate and NFL players of all time, but the work he’s continued to do off the field and his entrepreneurial spirit emphasized what a great fit he is for our organization,” Browns Managing and Principal Partners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said “As he is an Ohio native, we’re so thrilled to have Charles on board as a limited partner of the Cleveland Browns because he knows how much football means to this community. We know he will be instrumental in helping shape the future of the club through his insight and leadership and we are looking forward to having him as part of our ownership group.”
Woodson brings an impressive football resume to the ownership group as a former Heisman Trophy winner from Michigan, Super Bowl XLV champion with the Packers, 2009 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, a four-time first-team All-Pro, and nine-time Pro Bowler.
He also holds the NFL record for most consecutive seasons with an interception (6) from 2006-2011, and is tied for the most career defensive touchdowns in NFL history with 13. He has 65 career interceptions and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
Woodson spent 18 seasons in the NFL (1998-2015) playing for the Raiders twice and the Packers.
After football, Woodson became an analyst for “FOX NFL Kickoff” on FOX Sports while also serving as a defensive coach for his son’s Lake Nona High School football team in Orlando. In 2019, he launched Intercept Wines by Charles Woodson and in 2020 became the first Black former professional football player to achieve national distribution on a wine brand. In 2020, he launched Woodson Bourbon Whiskey. Over the past 10 years, The Woodson Fund and the Event on Main have raised more than $6.5 million for C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, helping to advance pediatric care, support groundbreaking research, and bring hope to countless families.
Woodson currently resides in Orlando with his wife April and their two sons.
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