The Cleveland Browns and FirstEnergy announced that they are ending their stadium naming rights agreement, which will return the Browns home stadium to its former name, Cleveland Browns Stadium.
The agreement between the Browns and FirstEnergy has been in place for the last 10 years, according to a news release from the team. Seven years remained on the $107 million deal.
“Together with the Browns, we have worked to enrich our communities while increasing awareness of FirstEnergy as an energy leader. Since we signed this agreement ten years ago, our priorities have shifted as the company evolved from a competitive energy supplier to a regulated utility, and as a result, our corporate initiatives must also evolve,” said John Somerhalder, FirstEnergy’s interim president and CEO. “Like the rest of northern Ohio, we remain passionate Browns fans and will cheer them on in upcoming seasons. We also look forward to maintaining our deep relationships with civic, arts and other organizations to bring good energy to our communities.”
The team and the company have “reached an amicable decision to end their stadium naming rights agreement,” the team stated in a news release Thursday. The terms and conditions of the agreement were not disclosed.
“We’ve had a great association with FirstEnergy for more than two decades, and we appreciate this partnership and what it has created for our team and the broader northeast Ohio community,” Dave Jenkins, Haslam Sports Group COO said. “We reached this amicable agreement that is consistent with the productive relationship we have always enjoyed, and we wish FirstEnergy success with their future initiatives. Our home stadium will return to its former name, Cleveland Browns Stadium.”
Although neither the Browns nor First Energy specifically detailed the reason for the split, the end of the naming rights deal comes about a month after former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was convicted of racketeering charges stemming from bribes that he received from FirstEnergy. The bribes were paid to Householder in exchange for the now-disgraced house speaker pushing through a taxpayer-funded bailout of the utility's nuclear power plants.
Watch our report from the day the jury returned the guilty verdicts here:
RELATED: Jury finds former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and co-defendant Matt Borges guilty
As a company, FirstEnergy admitted to its role in the scheme in 2021 and agreed to a settlement that called for them to fully cooperate and pay a $230 million fine. It remains unclear if former top executives of FirstEnergy will also face federal charges.
Watch our 2021 report on the settlement below:
RELATED: FirstEnergy to pay $230M in settlement in Ohio bribery case
One of the sub-plots of the public corruption scandal was First Energy's apparent bankrolling of a dark money group called Consumers Against Deceptive Fees, which reportedly sought to gut and undermine Cleveland's electric utility, Cleveland Public Power. Last year, the Cleveland City Council passed a resolution calling for the end of First Energy's naming rights deal with the Browns.
Watch our report from last year about the council's resolution below:
RELATED: City Council passes resolution for FirstEnergy to remove name from Browns stadium
"They had the naming rights but this stadium is actually powered by Cleveland Public Power. That's why it was so offensive," said Cleveland City Council Blaine Griffin. "The company that has been clearly trying to undermine our agency and our power company for several years got caught red-handed doing it. They had the audacity to have their name on the building while being powered by Cleveland Public Power."
Griffin said he was happy to hear that both sides agreed to end the naming rights deal, saying the Browns and the Haslams did right by the residents of Cleveland.
"This is something that we definitely wanted to use our platform and our voice to encourage the Browns to do. Once again, I want to commend my colleague, Councilman Brian Kazy. He really led the charge and all of council had his back on this. Now the Browns did what I believe was the right thing to do. What this does is send a message to the city of Cleveland and to the residents of the City of Cleveland. This is our stadium and we won’t allow any company or any individual or any group that does not reflect the values and character of the city of Cleveland to be able to be named on such a prestigious facility."
Before it was FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland Browns Stadium opened in 1999, occupying the site of the former Cleveland Stadium, commonly called Cleveland Municipal Stadium, which was built in 1931 and served as the Browns' home field from their founding in 1946 until the 1995 season.
FirstEnergy's naming rights deal with the Browns was signed in 2013. It was to be a 17-year, $107 million agreement. It remains unclear whether the Browns will immediately seek a new naming rights partner.
"What the Browns did was listen to the public. They listened to the citizens. They listened to the people that represent the citizens and they made a decision that was in the best interest of Cleveland," Griffin said. "Whenever companies do that — make decisions in the best interest of Cleveland — we all win. That’s what I think happened."
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