Managing and Principal Partner Jimmy Haslam & Managing Partner JW Johnson (7.31.26)
Opening remarks
Jimmy Haslam: “Dee had a schedule conflict, so JW (Johnson) is going to join this afternoon. A couple of preliminary remarks, JW might want to say something and then we’ll take questions. First of all, great to have our fans out here — we all like it, the players like it, it drives up everybody’s energy, so it’s great to have our fans out here. It’s great to have our players back, too. It seemed like a short break, but they came back in shape, playing hard. As you can tell, we work hard in camp — two hours today, really two hours every day. But off to a good start. The young guys are performing well, and we’re excited to see what happens as we try to stack up good practice after good practice.”
JW Johnson: “Not much to add. Just excited to see these young guys — everybody’s working hard. I think you’ll see coaches coaching the coaches, and coaches coaching the players hard, and that’s exciting to see. Everybody’s just ready to get to work. We’re early in camp, but we’re excited about the early results.”
How do you guys feel about the fact that you headed back into training camp still with a two-way quarterback competition going on, as opposed to knowing where you’re going?
Johnson: “Listen, I think all these guys are coming in and working hard. You see what Deshaun (Watson) has done — obviously, unfortunately, with a bunch of injuries he’s had that were season-ending the last couple of years — but he’s put in the work. Shedeur (Sanders) has really done a great job. He’s been here a lot all spring, working hard. Dillon (Gabirel), Taylen Green. Look, we all know the quarterback position is something we need to figure out at some point in time, there’s 31 other teams that probably need to do the same. A lot of guys have franchise quarterbacks, but we’re excited about how hard these guys are working, we’re excited about Todd and the staff working with them, to put them in a position to be ready to go this season.”
Jimmy, how do you balance the fact that this is kind of a transition period while having high expectations?
Haslam: “Well, I don’t know about high expectations — let’s say improved expectations. We’re always careful, as you know, to set the expectations, and I think we’ve made giant strides in our talent level the last few years. It takes these young guys a lot of time, and I think we could have a chance to start double-digit first and second-year players. I don’t care how good you are, it takes a little bit of time to improve. But we’re really excited about the roster we’ve assembled.”
Jimmy, dome question of course, many questions with the dome. A couple of months ago, one of your officials said there might be some sticker shock when fans hear the first prices for the PSL’s. What more light can you shed on the prices fans can expect for PSLs, maybe even a range?
Haslam: “I’m not sure who said that. We actually had a meeting on it today, and I can unequivocally say this: we have made no decisions on pricing for PSLs or tickets. We have a lot of work to do. I can tell you this — probably our number one overarching goal is to have as many affordable tickets as we can, because we’ve got great fans and they deserve it.”
Jimmy, how much did you contribute to the decision to trade Myles Garrett?
Haslam: “That was Andrew’s (Berry) decision. I don’t know what Andrew shared with you yesterday or in the past, that’s something that — the conversations we’ve had for about a while before it was announced, and the Rams were a good partner there and kept it quiet. But, a decision like that, ownership is going to be involved, but it’s Andrew’s decision, Andrew’s recommendation — in this case, ownership left it there. “
So let me just follow up and say, why did you approve the trade?
Haslam: Well, one, I think we got a really good player back, and I think you saw him today — a really good player who’s 25 years old and still on his rookie contract, so that’s the biggest reason. And then we picked up a one, a two and a three, and I think we all realize the three years we didn’t have number one picks due to the Deshaun (Watson) trade — one of those years I don’t think we even had a second — and the value of those picks, as we’ve proved the last two years, are tremendous. Myles (Garrett) is an unbelievable player. I was thinking the other night — Jim Brown, Joe Thomas, Myles Garrett — they’re all first-ballot Hall of Famers, world-class people, and so it was not an easy decision, but we’ve made it, we’re moving on and excited about Jared (Verse) and excited about those three draft picks.”
Would you welcome back Jadeveon Clowney with open arms?
Haslam: “That’s an Andrew (Berry) decision, but yeah, I think so. If Andrew says he thinks he can help us, we will.”
Jimmy, after Myles was traded, there was concern about who might be next — Denzel (Ward). But in the last couple of days, you’ve gotten Denzel under contract with an extension. Grant (Delpit)’s under a contract extension. How important was it to have those guys under contract beyond the next couple of years?
Haslam: “I would say this: you don’t just decide on Tuesday you’re going to re-sign some guy and do it on Wednesday — it takes a while, and so we’d been working with both of those guys. They’ve both played their entire careers with us. They’re really good players, they’re really good people, and they’re now the cornerstones of our defense. It’s great to have them tied up for several years, it’s great to see them out here — both of them make a big difference.”
In terms of that, do you feel like your expectations then are the same for this defense, which has statistically been the best over the last three years?
Johnson: “Listen, obviously we’ve had a lot of success. We’re really excited about Rudy (Mike Rutenberg) and what he’s doing — we’re really not changing much of the scheme. But being top five in the NFL in defense is tough to repeat every year. We hope we’re there; if we drop a little bit, it could happen. We’ve got a good young core and a lot of good veterans here, and we’re excited about the staff and what they’re doing. Our expectations for the defense are high, and I think you guys have seen the last couple of days — they’re flying around and look like they’re in midseason form. We want them to play at a high level, and so do they.”
What would you guys say that you’ve learned about Todd (Monken) since he’s been here?
Haslam: “What’s interesting is Todd was here for a year, so we got to know him pretty well, and the three years that he was at Baltimore, for whatever reason, we stayed in contact, and always thought very highly of him. And, I would say, Andrew (Berry) and I were talking at the end of practice — he coaches really hard, and he coaches the players hard and he coaches the coaches hard. If you’re the wide receiver coach and some guy runs eight yards shorter than that, you’re going to hear about it right then — you might not wait until after practice. This is coaching and teaching, and I think he’s really good at it and really comfortable at it. I think he has a unique ability to get on people hard and yet pick them up in the end of practice or phase or whatever. I think a lot of things, I’ll let JW take a stab at it, too, but that’s probably the number one thing for me.”
JW, was there anything during the interview process for the coaching search when you spoke to Todd (Monken) and he said something or did something that you left that interaction thinking, “This really might be our guy.”
Haslam: Let me say a couple of things, and I should probably have said this on your question. He’s also really comfortable in his own skin, and you all know how hard these jobs are and how long the seasons are. But, I think Todd’s comfortable in his own skin. I don’t want to share trade secrets, but he was my favorite from the get-go. We had some good coaches, and people drop out, and people don’t turn out the way you thought, but he was my pick from the first. Everybody says he’s never been a head coach and he’s 60, but we had the choice of taking that or somebody who’s never been a head coach and is 32 or 33. So, I like that. JW might want to say something.”
Johnson: “Obviously we need to improve on offense, and he has a proven track record in that and in developing quarterbacks and receivers, etc. I think Jimmy said it well — his personality, his demeanor, his attitude, the way he’s going to coach, he can approach and talk to anybody. He just stood out as the top candidate for us as we got through the process and we’re excited to have him here.”
You guys mentioned the young core, obviously Todd being a first-year head coach for you guys, a lot of changes in this offseason, you talked about expectations a little bit. When you think about where you guys are at as a team, and some of the new stuff that has changed, what would you define what success looks like in 2026?
Johnson: “Winning. Winning consistently.”
Haslam: “I would say this, and we never do this, but I think the odds are for us to win five and a half games — I’ll take the over.”
JW said obviously you’ve got to get the quarterback situation figured out, but taking it beyond the season. When would you like to know which quarterback is going to be playing in the new stadium in ’29?
Johnson: “That’s a long way out.”
Haslam: “I think Monk said the other day we’ll know by the first game who the starter is going to be.”
But that’s this year.
Haslam: “Somebody might have a great year and they’re our quarterback forever, or neither of them might. I think it’s way, way, way early to be talking about who’s going to be our quarterback next year — we’ve got to figure out who’s going to start the first game.”
If Deshaun Watson plays the way that you hope he does, if he wins the job, can you see a world where he’s around beyond this year?
Haslam: “I think there’s are all kinds of possibilities out there — so, yes. But here again, we’ve got to get through practice. I think our quarterbacks will play in the exhibition games, that’s obviously Todd’s call, and then Todd will figure out who’s going to start.”
Johnson: “Andrew and Todd have to play a big role in that.”
When Todd was hired, he talked about player accountability. What have you seen so far in this camp?
Johnson: “I mean look you can see it — Jimmy mentioned it, the attention to detail and telling these guys what to do. Earlier in the spring, we had a routes-on-air session, and the quarterbacks were throwing the ball short on a windy day. He started it over and said, ‘listen, you guys are NFL quarterbacks, you’ve got to make these throws.’ He’s going to hold everybody accountable, whether that’s on the field, being on time to meetings, dressing accordingly, doing all the right things — and the guys are listening to him and buying into what he’s selling.”
Are you surprised there were 10 head coaching openings around the league and you were the only team that considered Todd Monken?
Johnson: “I think Todd’s had plenty of opportunities — it just didn’t work out. We’re glad he’s here, and he’s going to be the head coach of the Cleveland Browns for hopefully many years to come.”
You guys talked about the young core; last year’s draft class was strong early on. From what you’ve seen through spring and summer, do you feel like Andrew Berry put together a draft that can not just on paper look good, but on the field?
Haslam: “I do. We’ve had, what, six or seven practices, but the receivers look really good. It’s hard to tell about the offensive linemen, but I think Emmanuel (McNeil-Warren) looks good, too. So, we’re very optimistic. We have high expectations for them and they know it.”
There’s a narrative that fans mention a lot — you guys are rebuilding now, some good pieces with a young team.When the new stadium opens, that’s when you really want to being a playoff-type team. Do consider it? Do you talk about that? Is that realistic?
Haslam: “Never. We want to be a contending playoff team in ’27 — that doesn’t mean we can’t make it in ’26. But the stadium is not coming into play at all.”
Jimmy and JW, if you can maybe address this but it seems you have one quarterback in the competition that fans don’t necessarily embrace the way you’d hope they will, and one who’s wildly popular. Do you have a strategy or thoughts for managing and dealing with that situation?
Johnson: “I think everyone’s a fan of each guy, some like Deshuan, a lot of people don’t, some people like Shedeur (Sanders), maybe some people don’t. It really doesn’t matter, and those guys don’t care about it. Like we said earlier, those guys have been here working hard. All they want to do is win and help this team out. They know our success on the field is paramount for the team, our fans, our organization and for this city. Having eight wins in the last two years is unacceptable — I was talking to Daryl earlier and we had a ton of opportunities last year to win more games and we just didn’t. But we feel comfortable about those guys. Whoever wins the job, we’re going to support them, and we hope the fans do too. The best thing they can do is play well and win football games, and that’ll change the narrative.”
Haslam: “I think one thing I’ve noticed about fans is that if a player plays well, they tend to come around. So, we’ll see.”
Last year we talked about it was important to see the rookie quarterbacks play given the four-man competition. This year, with Shedeur (Sanders) being so much younger, do you feel like you need to see him on the field at some point if he doesn’t win this competition?
Haslam: “I think that’s a question for Todd (Monken).”
What still has to be decided, what still has to be done from the planning stage on the stadium project?
Haslam: “I think we’re in great shape on the planning stage. All of that is done, the design is complete, and we’ve been under construction for six or seven months now, so there’s a giant hole over there, and we’re starting to put steel in the ground to shore things up. So that’s in good shape. There’s still a lawsuit against the state that needs to be resolved. We hope that it does, quite frankly, and we think it will be resolved, but we don’t know if that’s two months or two years.”
That’s not going to hold up the project.
Haslam: “That’s not going to hold up the project. I think we’ve said that consistently. This is a difficult project, and we’ve said that a bunch. What we’re doing now is managing cost. It’s a $6 billion project, and with all the AI data centers going up, there’s a lot of competition for construction companies so you’ve got to manage those costs.”
This ownership group has been at the center of two of the biggest trades in sports this year, with Myles Garrett and Giannis (Antetokounmpo). Have you thought about the similarities, and about the long-term rebuilding process for both?
Haslam: “Good question. My dad’s 95 and a half, and he still follows every sports movement. He called me up after we traded Giannis’(Antetokounmpo) and said, ‘do you know that in the last month we traded Myles and Giannis?’ I said, ‘yes sir, I know that.’ Listen, it’s all about what you get. Giannis (Antetokounmpo) is a generational player who won a championship, but we felt the need to get younger — he was the best asset we had for the future going forward, and we got four really good players and two draft picks, along with a couple of swaps in the second round. Time will tell — we’ve got to use those picks wisely, just like we have to do with the Myles (Garrett) trade. Cautious optimism, but being realistic, rebuilding is no fun. I actually think it’s harder to rebuild in the NBA than in the NFL, but we’ll see.”
You’ve been more conservative in these last two offseasons, and you’ve mentioned wanting to be playoff contenders in ’27. Do you consider it being back all-in when we get to next offseason?
Haslam: “I mentioned the salary cap, Andrew (Berry) and Chris Cooper do a great job with that, and I think we’ll be in, listen we could do it this year, you want to time things. I think next year, depending on how we play this year, we haven’t played a game yet, but if we play like we think we can, our young guys produce, again that’s an Andrew (Berry) question, next year might be the time to dip into free agency. You have to realize that when you go into free agency, you’re going to overpay — you just are. So, you’ve got to keep that in mind and balance that with the value of draft picks.”
What is 2026 about?
Haslam: “Continue to get better. Continue to get better, and to not play ugly. I’m making a joke, but I mean it. We want to be fun to watch. We want to play hard and not make mistakes. Look like we’ve got our act together, which is something we didn’t have the last two years, and the expectation are we will this year.”
Johnson: “I just want to say we’re not punting on this season by any means. ’27 is great, but we have high expectations for this team. We had a lot of opportunities last year to win more games and we didn’t, but this year is by no means a punt whatsoever. We’re excited about how we’re going to play, we’ll see how the schedule shakes out, but the guys are ready to win this year. There’s no mandate like, ‘hey we just have to focus on ’27 and beyond.’ Every year we want to win.”
Jimmy, this is year 15 for you as owner of the Browns. How would you summarize your performance in your tenure as the owner of the team?
Haslam: “On the field, not very good. I think I said this in the spring, but listen, we’re blessed to get to do a lot of things, and hopefully most of them go well, but our on-field performance — and this is more Dee (Haslam) and I, not Whitney (Haslam-Johnson) and JW — is something that keeps us awake at night. It’s unacceptable, and I hate it most for our fans, because they deserve better than that. We’re working hard every day to not have that same kind of performance we’ve had in the past. We don’t have our heads in the sand — we know we haven’t performed.”
Jimmy, since you have put this project Brook Park project together, a number of teams around the NFL have unveiled their own plans for enclosed stadiums with clear roofs. Can you touch on the competition for big events that you’re hoping this new building will draw to Cleveland, given competition from big cities like Washington, D.C. and Kansas City? How do you see that going to plan?
Haslam: “I think if you look at where consumers are spending their money, it’s on sports and entertainment, and concerts are entertainment. Unfortunately, in Cleveland, with the weather and the way the football season works, we’re probably only going to have the opportunity for two or three of those a year. We’re hoping we’ll have 10 to 12 big events and then a bunch of medium-sized and smaller events. Is there competition? Yes — the competition tends to be geographic, and I don’t think anybody’s in our immediate area, maybe Buffalo since it’s outside. But we’re not the only ones doing it — when you’re spending two and a half to three billion dollars, you’ve got to do more than play 10 football games.”
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