Acme Packing Company
The former Packers All-Pro is now a limited partner for an NFL franchise
At the NFL Spring Meetings on Tuesday, the league approved former Green Bay Packers star Charles Woodson to become a part-owner of the Cleveland Browns. He’s being listed as a non-controlling minority interest of the team, which isn’t surprising, considering that even Hall of Fame players are priced out of owning teams in today’s day and age. For reference, Woodson made $98 million in his playing career, before tax, and the San Francisco 49ers were just valued at $8.6 billion after they sold 6.2 percent of their team earlier this month.
Woodson never played for the Browns, only the Packers and Oakland Raiders, but was born and raised in Fremont, Ohio, about an hour and a half away from Cleveland. According to the Browns’ press release, the team’s newest limited partner first met the Haslam Family, who owns a controlling stake in the franchise, in early 2024.
Woodson is an analyst for FOX Sports, which makes him the second owner that the NFL’s broadcast partner will need to work around, the first being the Raiders’ Tom Brady. How they manage that relationship will be interesting to monitor, but at least Woodson will be at a desk in the studio instead of in the booth covering games for FOX.
Woodson was an eight-time All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowler during his playing days, with four of those All-Pro honors and Pro Bowl seasons coming with the Packers. He was also a member of the NFL’s 2000s All-Decade Team and has been inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Woodson bought 0.1 percent of the Browns’ franchise. If the Browns’ valuation was on par with the 49ers, then Woodson would have paid around $860,000 for the title of limited partner.
