Shift to Baltimore in '96 marks the darkest year in Browns history

The Cleveland Browns ceased to exist in 1996 when owner Art Modell moved his franchise to Baltimore. Three years went by before they were back, though they never truly came back to where they had left from. Even to this day!

Still, there was no time period darker in the Browns' history than 1996, when the city of Cleveland had to shift from one that had an NFL franchise to one that no longer did. Modell himself recognized that fact when the deal went down.

"It's been a very, very tough experience for a lot of people. Now the final whistle has blown in this ballgame. I'm leaving Cleveland with the greatest memories. I'm looking forward to a new life and a new era in Baltimore. . . The deal (between Cleveland and the NFL) would be attractive for any team, even me. But that boat has sailed."

To the NFL's credit, they did allow a return by the 1999 season that was delivered on. Roger Goodell's predecessor, Paul Tagliabue, made that promise when the agreement to return the league to Baltimore was ratified.

"This is a historic agreement in professional sports that solves an emotional, difficult problem for the NFL, Cleveland, and Baltimore. To the fans of the Browns, I can say very simply, 'You can count on us, the Browns will be there by 1999'. . . . The NFL is committed to this. There are no ifs, ands, or buts."

It didn't go down without a fight, though. Cleveland's lead attorney in negotiations, Fred Nance, had the possibility of keeping the Browns on the table until the very end. There was even the possibility of Baltimore being forced to wait for an expansion or existing franchise being raised.

Here's what Nance said on that historically fateful day:

"We looked at Cleveland keeping the current team as option number one. We looked at expansion or relocation for us as option number two. We negotiated on that to the last day. We were still looking at option one yesterday (Thursday). But we didn't come to closure on it and then we never came back to it as we negotiated. On Tuesday, this whole thing was a 50-50 proposition. We were told that Modell was reluctant to pay any damages, and that was a deal breaker. We felt the city had to be made whole. On Wednesday we got his first offer, which was to pay out-of-pocket expenses of $2.25 million."

There was a disconnect for both parties the day they went in to negotiate.

"Through the negotiations, both sides treated it as a forgone conclusion (that) Cleveland could keep the team for three years with that injunction. But the likelihood of bringing another NFL team to Cleveland thereafter (the three years) was going to be remote to nonexistent."

Municipal Stadium was the reason the Browns had to move out of Cleveland

The Browns did not have a stadium that was conducive to the direction the NFL was going in regarding fan experience on gameday. As long as that was the case, there was going to be a split from Cleveland for the organization.

CBS Sports writer Jeremy Markovich broke down the details as to what that entailed.

"The short version of why Modell moved the Browns: The NFL's business model was changing. Corporate skyboxes, something Cleveland Municipal Stadium was short on, were becoming exponentially more lucrative than season tickets."

Apparently, when the city of Cleveland's pro sports owners and political leaders met years before the Browns left 'The Land', Modell wasn't invited to the negotiating table - or worse, he decided not to show up and discuss a new stadium plan, as Markovich relayed.

"Modell bought the Browns in 1961 as a 35-year-old ad man. He got a sweetheart deal to run the city-owned stadium in 1974, one that allowed him to keep nearly all of the money he made there. He was the Indians' landlord. In the early 1990s, when Cleveland's politicians put together a plan to build a downtown arena for the Cavaliers and a glistening new ballpark for the Indians, Modell wasn't included. Whether he wasn't asked, or whether he turned down the city's offer for a new stadium is still up for debate."

In the early 1990s, though Cleveland crowds had not fallen off, the upkeep of the stadium did because of the increased costs it took to get Municipal Stadium gameday ready. Modell didn't care to figure out what it'd take to make it work, and decided to take the easy way out: a one-way ticket to Baltimore.

Cleveland's Mayor at the time, Michael White, had no interest in letting him do that however. White met with other mayors and even held competing press conferences at the same time as Modell.

As Markovich framed it, the lobbying on Cleveland's behalf to keep the Browns was part of the ex-mayor's legacy:

"Even though he's escaped from the public eye, the Browns will always be part of his legacy. White said the fight wasn't about sports. Rather, it was one about the dignity of his community, and the battle seemed to draw everybody together. In that 2013 interview, the memory still feels fresh. 'I think of that as Cleveland's finest hour,' he said. And Modell? 'You screw us, we're going to screw you right back'."

Browns have never recovered from the move to Baltimore

Cleveland has seen one postseason win since the team moved away. Baker Mayfield led the Browns past the Steelers after the 2020 season, but even that goodwill has faded.

Mayfield may never play for the franchise again after the perceived betrayal by the front office for not telling him ahead of time about the Deshaun Watson trade. Watson may be suspended himself given the gory details of his alleged sexual harrassment.

Things may never be as good in Cleveland as they were before the Browns left for Baltimore.