A sale of the Cleveland Browns is close, says Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Negotiations between current owner Randy Lerner and Jimmy Haslam are moving along, and the team received a guarantee that it would not be moved.
From a league source cited in the Plain Dealer report:
"An unconditional guarantee was given that the Browns would not move before talks could even start."
On Friday morning, Lerner released a statement revealing that he was in talks to bring Haslam on an "investor" in the team. The extent of that investment was not made clear by Lerner.
Top officials from the team have denied in recent months that the Browns were for sale. The latest denials came when former Eagles team president Joe Banner said publicly that the team was for sale. The Plain Dealer report cites a Philadelphia television station that says Banner is one of the people involved in group trying to buy the Browns.
Details surrounding the ownership situation with the Browns are still sketchy, and more are likely to emerge as the news cycle progresses.
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