The Sports Business Journal has named Cleveland Browns Executive Vice President/General Counsel Sashi Brown to its prestigious Forty under 40 list.
Brown, 38, arrived in Cleveland in January 2013, after serving as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2006-2012.
With the Browns and around the NFL, Brown is known as a master with the salary cap, but it's his wider scope that has him earning national recognition. Brown does everything from negotiating player contracts to allocating funding on the stadium renovations, media and sponsorship deals.
This past February, Brown participated in the Browns' leadership retreat. Alongside owner Jimmy Haslam, general manager Ray Farmer, coach Mike Pettine and president Alec Scheiner, the group met off-site to discuss the future of the organization.
"A challenge for NFL teams has been finding people that can bridge the gaps between business and football operations," Brown said of his role in Cleveland. "Finding synergies and ways to work with people on both sides are unique and can provide tremendous value.
"Just having the opportunity to work with both sides of the organization is outstanding from my standpoint. Personally, it can be challenging. But organizationally it has a tremendous amount of upside for the Browns as we move forward – to make sure we are a collaborative group across the organization."
Immediately after graduating with a Harvard Law degree in 2002, Brown found himself at the Wilmer-Cutler-Pickering law firm in Washington D.C., where his boss was Dick Cass – now the president of the Baltimore Ravens. Cass taught Brown the complexities of cutting deals and negotiating.
Alongside Brown was another young pup of a lawyer, Scheiner. The two bonded instantly as they worked on venture capital and private equity deals and have remained close ever since.
Other people Brown has confided in during his career include Jaguars owners Shahid Kahn (current), Wayne Weaver (past), NBA deputy commissioner and COO Mark Tatum and football people, too, such as Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio, Farmer and Pettine.
Throughout his years in sports, Brown said it would be hard to pinpoint a specific deal that's his crown jewel, but in particular it's his two years in Cleveland that elicits the most pride.
"I know there's been some negative publicity, but the reality is we were a very, very competitive team in the division last year," Brown said over the phone while he attended the Sports Business Journal banquet in Los Angeles. "We are improving the roster. We've renovated the stadium. We've really transformed our game day experience with VP Kevin Griffin at the helm of that. We've taken the franchise in a lot of positive directions.
"And it's truly a privilege to work for a team in the league."
Brown joins Scheiner and Executive Vice President/Chief Revenue Officer Brent Stehlik as three members of the Browns organizations who have been named to the Sports Business Journal's annual list.
A look at Browns uniforms, from the franchise's inception to current-day.
1946 – In the team's inaugural season the Browns wore plain white helmets and sported white and brown jerseys with classy shadowboxed numbers. These jerseys were worn for one season only.
1947 – The Browns introduce what is now viewed as the "classic" Browns uniform.
1950 – The Browns introduced solid orange helmets for the first time as part of their uniform.
1953 – Orange uniforms are introduced for the first time. They would appear again in exhibition games in 1954 and 1955 before being shelved.
1957 – For three seasons, the Browns add brown jersey numbers to all of their helmets.
1960 – For one season only, the Browns add two brown stripes that flank the existing white center striped helmets along with the brown jersey numbers on the side.
1969 – A commemorative patch is added to the uniform to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the NFL. This is the first time that a patch of any kind is worn on the uniform.
1970 – Names are introduced to the back of all jerseys.
1975 – Orange pants are introduced for the first time. All facemasks on helmets are changed to white in color.
1984 – Jerseys are radically redesigned as solid orange pants are replaced by white pants that for the first time feature an orange center stripe outlined with brown stripes with solid orange or brown socks. Brown jerseys with orange numbers are worn for the preseason before being scrapped because the numbers proved to be too difficult for spotters to recognize during the game.
1985 – The team returns to the "classic" Browns look.
2002 – Orange jerseys make a return to the field for the Browns.
2003 – Orange center stripe returns to the pants for first time since 1984.
2008 – Solid brown pants are introduced for the first time.
2013 – The Browns sport a "brown out" version of their jersey on Thursday Night football, wearing their brown jersey with solid brown pants and socks.
