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The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team is named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown. They play their home games at Huntington Bank Field, which opened in 1999, with administrative offices and training facilities in Berea, Ohio. The franchise's official club colors are brown, orange, and white. They are unique among the 32 member clubs of the NFL in that they do not have a logo on their helmets.
The franchise was founded in 1944 by Brown and businessman Arthur B. McBride as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), and began play in 1946. The Browns dominated the AAFC, compiling a 47–4–3 record in the league's four seasons and winning its championship in each. When the AAFC folded after the 1949 season, the Browns joined the NFL along with the San Francisco 49ers and the original Baltimore Colts. The Browns won a championship in their inaugural NFL season, as well as in the 1954, 1955, and 1964 seasons, and in a feat unequaled in any of the North American major professional sports, played in their league championship game in each of their first 10 years of existence, winning seven of those games. From 1965 to 1995, they qualified to play in the NFL playoffs 14 times, but did not win another championship or play in the Super Bowl during that period.
In 1995, owner Art Modell, who had purchased the Browns in 1961, announced plans to move the team to Baltimore. After threats of legal action from the city of Cleveland and fans, a compromise was reached in early 1996 that allowed Modell to establish the Baltimore Ravens as a new franchise while retaining the contracts of all Browns personnel. The Browns' intellectual property, including team name, logos, training facility, and history, were kept in trust and the franchise was regarded by the NFL as suspended, guaranteed to return no later than the 1999 season, either by relocation of an existing franchise or an expansion draft. While several of the existing franchises at the time considered relocating to Cleveland, in 1998 it was confirmed that the NFL would hold an expansion draft and field 31 teams when the Browns resumed play in 1999. And although the 1999 Browns were restocked via an expansion draft, the Browns are not considered to be an expansion franchise.
Since resuming operations in 1999, the Browns have struggled to find success, especially during the 2010s when they did not post one winning season throughout that decade. They have had only four winning seasons (2002, 2007, 2020, and 2023), three playoff appearances (2002, 2020, and 2023), and one playoff win (2020), winning less than one third of their games in total, and in 2017 were only the second team in NFL history to have a 0–16 season after the 2008 Detroit Lions. The franchise has also been noted for a lack of stability with head coaches (10 full time - including two who were fired after only one season - and two interim since 1999) and quarterbacks (38 different starters since 1999). From 2003 to 2019, the Browns had a 17-season playoff drought, which ended during the 2020 season. They are one of four teams to have never appeared in a Super Bowl.
The Cleveland Browns were founded in 1944 when taxi-cab magnate Arthur B. "Mickey" McBride secured a Cleveland franchise in the newly formed All-America Football Conference (AAFC). Paul Brown was the team's namesake and first coach. The Browns began play in 1946 in the AAFC. The Browns won each of the league's four championship games before the league dissolved in 1949. The team then moved to the more established National Football League (NFL), where it continued to dominate. Between 1950 and 1955, Cleveland reached the NFL championship game every year, winning three times.
McBride and his partners sold the team to a group of Cleveland businessmen in 1953 for a then-unheard-of $600,000. Eight years later, the team was sold again, this time to a group led by New York advertising executive Art Modell. Modell fired Brown before the 1963 season, but the team continued to win behind running back Jim Brown. The Browns won the championship in 1964 and reached the title game the following season, losing to the Green Bay Packers.
When the AFL and NFL merged before the 1970 season, Cleveland became part of the new American Football Conference (AFC). While the Browns made it back to the playoffs in 1971 and 1972, they fell into mediocrity through the mid-1970s. A revival of sorts took place in 1979 and 1980, when quarterback Brian Sipe engineered a series of last-minute wins and the Browns came to be called the "Kardiac Kids". Under Sipe, however, the Browns did not make it past the first round of the playoffs. Quarterback Bernie Kosar, whom the Browns drafted in 1985, led the team to three AFC Championship games in the late 1980s but lost each time to the Denver Broncos.
In 1995, Modell announced he was relocating the Browns to Baltimore, sowing a mix of outrage and bitterness among Cleveland's dedicated fan base. Negotiations and legal battles led to an agreement where Modell would be allowed to take his personnel to Baltimore as an expansion franchise, called the Baltimore Ravens, but would leave Cleveland the Browns' colors, logos and heritage for a reactivated Browns franchise that would take the field no later than 1999. Prior to the 1991 season, the Browns hired Bill Belichick to be the head coach. He led the team one winning season in his five years with the team, which occurred in 1994. The 1994 team defeated the New England Patriots 20–13 in the Wild Card Round before falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers 29–9 in the Divisional Round. Following a 5–11 season in 1995, the Browns fired Belichick.
After three years of inactivity while Cleveland Stadium was demolished and Cleveland Browns Stadium was built on its site, the Browns were reactivated and started play again in 1999 under new owner Al Lerner. Under head coach Chris Palmer, the Browns went 2–14 in 1999 and 3–13 in 2000. The Browns struggled throughout the 2000s and 2010s, posting a record of 101–234–1 (.302) since their 1999 return. The Browns have only posted four winning seasons and three playoff appearances (2002, 2020, 2023) since returning to the NFL. The team's struggles have been magnified since 2012, when the Lerner family sold the team to businessman Jimmy Haslam. In six seasons under Haslam's ownership, the Browns went through four head coaches and four general managers, none of whom had found success.
Butch Davis was named head coach prior to the 2001 season. In his first season, he led the team to a 7–9 record in 2001. He led the team to a playoff berth with a 9–7 record in 2002. The Browns lost 36–33 to the Steelers in the Wild Card Round. The team regressed to a 5–11 record in the 2003 season. Following a 3–8 start to the 2004 season, Davis resigned. Terry Robiskie finished out the season with a 1–4 mark. Prior to the 2005 season, the team hired Romeo Crennel to the be their next head coach. He went 6–10 in 2005 and 4–12 in 2006. He posted a winning 10–6 record that did not qualify for the playoffs in the 2007 season. He went 4–12 in the 2008 season and was fired following the season. Eric Mangini posted consecutive 5–11 seasons as head coach in 2009 and 2010 before getting fired. Pat Shurmur coached the team to a 4–12 record in 2011 and a 5–11 record in 2012 before getting fired. Rob Chudzinski coached the Browns in the 2013 season. He was fired after a 4–12 campaign. Mike Pettine coached the team in 2014 and 2015, going 7–9 and 3–13 before getting fired. In 2016 and 2017 under head coach Hue Jackson, the Browns went 1–31 (.031, including a winless 0–16 season in 2017), the worst two-year stretch in NFL history, and received the number one overall draft pick in both of those years. Those top overall draft picks were used on Myles Garrett and Baker Mayfield.
Prior to the 2019 season, Freddie Kitchens was hired as head coach. Kitchens led the team to a 6–10 record and was fired following the season. Prior to the 2020 season, the Browns hired Kevin Stefanski as their head coach. In 2020, the Browns secured their first playoff berth since 2002 by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 17 and finishing the season 11–5. In the Wild Card Round, they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 48–37 for their first playoff win since 1994. The Browns saw their season end in a 22–17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round. The 2021 season saw the Browns go 8–9 and miss the postseason. In the following season, the Browns went 7–10 and missed the postseason for the 2022 season. In the 2023 season, the Browns returned to the postseason with a 11–6 mark. The Browns ended their season with a 45–14 loss to the Texans in the Wild Card Round.