The Browns will donate annual profits from FirstEnergy Stadium’s retail outlets to youth football and education initiatives in Ohio starting this year, a move believed to be the first of its kind in pro sports. The team's commitment is open-ended and expected to continue for many years. The franchise expects the sum to be about $250,000 annually. Browns Exec VP & CRO Brent Stehlik said, "I am not aware of anyone else doing this. Hopefully we will be a trendsetter and more and more teams will do (this). Giving this money back into youth sports and education should be a league wide initiative.” The team has been working on the idea for much of the year, so it is unrelated to the NFL’s social justice push that picked up steam in the wake of anthem connected player protests. “One doesn’t have to do with the other,” Stehlik said. The team’s pro shop, managed by Legends, recently cut prices by 25% on average in an effort to make the merchandise more affordable. The move to donate Pro Shop profits only relates to brick and mortar and not the Browns' online shop. The team additionally has donated up to $4M to install five synthetic turf youth fields in Cleveland, with the dedication of the fifth field slated for Friday.
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