AKRON, Ohio - NFL commissioner Roger Goodell believes Jimmy Haslam III will officially be the owner of the Cleveland Browns soon, perhaps even in time for the start of the 2012 season.
Speaking at a youth football event in Akron on Saturday morning, Goodell said the involved parties have been "working on it" and that the sale of the Browns from Randy Lerner to Haslam will be finalized and approved "hopefully in a matter of weeks."
Goodell said the NFL won't rush the process, but that he's excited for Haslam to be on board.
"We take great steps to ensure that all requirements are met," Goodell said. "We make sure we have the right type of structure in place. It will go through our committees and then the full ownership will vote on it.
"It will be no later than October unless something unusual happens."
Haslam has owned a stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers, so he has a familiarity with the league and Goodell. And Goodell thinks the Browns will thrive under Haslam's watch.
"Jimmy Haslam is going to do a terrific job," Goodell said. "He's dedicated and committed and he's going to be a part of this community. He wants to build a winner, not just for one year but for the long term. He wants the Browns to consistently be a franchise this community is proud of. He's going to be good for the community but also for the NFL.
"It was very important to the Lerner family to hand this off to an ownership group that understood the importance of the Browns in Cleveland."
