Charles Woodson Steps Away From Browns Ownership Bid

Professional Soccer Corridor of Famer Charles Woodson has backed out of a beforehand introduced plan to buy a minority stake within the Cleveland Browns, citing conflicts between NFL possession guidelines and his rising wine and spirits enterprise.

Woodson, a former All-Professional defensive again, instructed Entrance Workplace Sports activities that he finally selected to not proceed with buying a 0.1% possession share within the franchise as a result of league insurance policies would have compelled him to separate his identify from his wine and whiskey manufacturers.

“I assumed I used to be going to be a proud proprietor of the Browns but it surely wasn’t capable of occur as a result of I wasn’t capable of take my identify off of my product,” Woodson stated. “It’s what made the product. It’s how I began so I wasn’t in a position to do this.”

The deal seemed to be nicely underway final spring, when the Browns introduced in Could that Woodson had acquired league approval as a minority investor and praised the attitude he would carry to the possession group. Primarily based on the staff’s estimated valuation on the time—between $4 billion and $6.4 billion—the stake would have been price roughly $4 million to $6 million.

Nonetheless, Entrance Workplace Sports activities reported that NFL laws prohibit staff homeowners from promoting alcohol, a rule that immediately conflicted with Woodson’s enterprise ventures, together with “Charles Woodson’s Intercept Wines” and “Woodson Whiskey.” Regardless of the restriction, Woodson’s wine has beforehand been served at Las Vegas Raiders video games, underscoring the bizarre rigidity between league coverage and his model.

Ultimately, Woodson selected to retain full management of his firms fairly than finalize the Browns funding. The staff confirmed the cut up in a quick assertion to Entrance Workplace Sports activities, saying, “We respect the choice by Charles and want him nicely.”

Though Woodson by no means performed for Cleveland throughout his NFL profession, he’s an Ohio native and reportedly constructed a powerful rapport with Browns proprietor Jimmy Haslam in 2024. With out an possession function to pursue, Woodson plans to proceed his post-playing profession as an NFL broadcaster whereas increasing his footprint within the spirits business.

Woodson stated he and his staff are centered on refining the presentation of Intercept Wines, together with a refreshed bottle design.

“For the wine, one of many main modifications that we’ve made is the packaging and look of our bottles,” he defined. “We needed to make it extra uniform and interesting to the attention… just a little bit extra eye-popping.”

An NFL spokesperson beforehand clarified the coverage to Entrance Workplace Sports activities, stating, “The league’s coverage prohibits any proprietor, whatever the quantity of possession, to make use of his or her identify, picture, and likeness for promotional functions.”

For Woodson, a Heisman Trophy winner, Tremendous Bowl champion, and Corridor of Famer, the choice got here right down to defending the identification he constructed past soccer—even when it meant strolling away from an NFL possession alternative.

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