| @ GodmodeEngaged, THIS IS STRAIGHT FROM WIKIPEDIA:
The Browns were the AAFC's most successful franchise, and were one of only three teams to join the NFL following the merger. In 1995, after nearly 50 years in Cleveland, then owner Art Modell announced his intention to move the team to Baltimore, Maryland, initiating a relocation controversy that led to legal action. The legal action resulted in a unique compromise: Modell would keep the Browns' existing player and staff contracts, but his team officially would be a new franchise; this team is now known as the Baltimore Ravens. The Browns name, history, and archives would remain in Cleveland, and a new Browns team began play in 1999 after a three-year period of "deactivation". |