The Browns are "rolling out a uniform redesign on Wednesday, and the net proceeds from all new jersey sales will go to COVID-19 relief in Greater Cleveland," according to Peter King of NBC SPORTS. Jersey profits "will go to a fund, 'Hats Off To Our Heroes,' aiding health-care professionals, first-responders and others on the front line of caring and servicing those affected by the virus." Browns Exec VP JW Johnson said, "Having a uniform launch now, we asked ourselves, 'Are we being tone-deaf?' We thought we needed some positivity in a tough time for a lot of people." King noted the Browns last changed uniforms in '15, and the reaction "was pretty sour." Johnson said, "Our fans wanted us to get back to our roots, to our tradition." He added, "We've been able to figure out a way for us to go back to more of a traditional look while giving back to people and to families who need it." King: "It's a smart way to help. Now everyone who buys a Browns jersey knows they're contributing X dollars to those helping the afflicted" (NBCSPORTS.com, 4/13).
POSITIVE NUMBERS: Browns Exec VP & COO David Jenkins said season-ticket renewals, the deadline for which had been March 6, were "very strong." In Cleveland, Kevin Kleps noted the pandemic resulted in the team "removing the hard deadline, and the club is working with customers who have been hit hard by the crisis." The waiting list is "now above 5,000, which would make it seem certain that the Browns, after 13 of 31 home games didn't sell out from 2015-18, would have a second straight season in which every contest was recorded as a sellout." But such an assumption "can't be made now" with so much "uncertainty and a staggering number of people losing their jobs." Jenkins said, "We still anticipate that we could sell out every game, but we're not foolish enough to look past everything that's going on." He added that it is "too early for the Browns to start planning for the possibility of playing in an empty stadium, and the club is eager to see how the other leagues proceed in the coming months" (CRAINSCLEVELAND.com, 4/12).
