Jimmy Haslam (Pilot Travel Centers photo)CLEVELAND (AP) - Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner said Friday he is discussing a possible investment in the team by truck-stop magnate Jimmy Haslam, a self-described "1,000 percent" Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
The Browns have been owned by the Lerner family since 1999, when the franchise was reborn after the original club moved to Baltimore.
Randy Lerner, who also owns the Aston Villa soccer club in England, inherited the Browns in 2002 following the death of his father, Al.
Some fans have been unhappy with Randy Lerner, long criticizing him as a disengaged owner of a club that has made the playoffs just once since it was recreated.
Jimmy Haslam is current president and CEO of Pilot Flying J and brother of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.
Lauren Christ, spokeswoman for the company, confirmed that Jimmy Haslam is a prospective Browns investor. She said Haslam would have no further comment and referred all questions to the team.
Haslam has been a minority investor in the Pittsburgh Steelers and in a 2010 profile said he had been a Dallas Cowboys and then an Indianapolis Colts fan. But with Pittsburgh investment, Haslam said he had become "1,000 percent a Steelers fan."
Haslam and his wife have donated $10 million to the University of Tennessee for scholarship and faculty programs.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
