# Jimmy Haslam
**Jimmy Haslam** (James Arthur Haslam III) is an American businessman from [Knoxville, Tennessee](https://www.edgepedia.org/knoxville-tennessee), and the principal owner of the [Cleveland Browns](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland-browns) of the [National Football League](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-football-league), which he and his wife Dee Haslam bought from Randy Lerner in October 2012 for $1.05 billion[1](https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2024/11/19/cleveland-browns-ownership-jimmy-dee-haslam). He built his career at Pilot Corporation, the truck-stop company founded by his father, and served as its chief executive before turning to sports ownership on a large scale[2](https://volopedia.lib.utk.edu/entries/james-a-haslam-iii/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | James Arthur Haslam III, known as Jimmy; Knoxville native, University of Tennessee class of 1976[2](https://volopedia.lib.utk.edu/entries/james-a-haslam-iii/) |
| Browns purchase | October 2012, $1.05 billion, from Randy Lerner; he sold his minority stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers the same year[1](https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2024/11/19/cleveland-browns-ownership-jimmy-dee-haslam) • [3](https://alumni.utk.edu/jimmy-haslam-76/) |
| Pilot career | Joined the Pilot board in 1975 at age 20; CEO of Pilot Corporation from the mid-1990s; chairman of the Pilot Company board from 2020 to 2023[4](https://www.forbes.com/profile/jimmy-haslam/) • [2](https://volopedia.lib.utk.edu/entries/james-a-haslam-iii/) • [5](https://haslamsports.com/leadership/dee-and-jimmy-haslam/) |
| Pilot Flying J investigation | 2013 FBI and IRS raid over a fuel-pricing fraud scheme; $92 million in criminal penalties and $85 million in civil settlements; Haslam was never charged and denied knowledge of wrongdoing[1](https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2024/11/19/cleveland-browns-ownership-jimmy-dee-haslam) |
| Haslam Sports Group | Founded in 2020 by Dee and Jimmy Haslam with Whitney and JW Johnson; portfolio includes the Browns, operating rights to the Columbus Crew, a controlling interest in the Milwaukee Bucks, and investments in the WNBA and a Columbus NWSL franchise[6](https://haslamsports.com/about/) |
| New stadium | $2.6 billion enclosed Huntington Bank Field in Brook Park, Ohio, with $1.755 billion (67.5 percent) from the Haslam family; 67,500 seats; groundbreaking in 2026 and opening planned for the 2029 season[7](https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/the-haslam-family-increases-personal-investment-in-new-huntington-bank-field-project) • [8](https://apnews.com/article/779dc41bbb15001be7aece476f7ce24f) |
| Browns record | Seven head coaches hired since 2012; the previous six compiled a 73-139-1 regular-season record, the second-worst mark in the NFL over that span[9](https://apnews.com/article/d4b1e6a527fe3a5aa808b27a5851caa3) |
## Early life and Pilot career
Haslam grew up in Knoxville, where his father, James A. Haslam II, started the business that became [Pilot Flying J](https://www.edgepedia.org/pilot-flying-j) in 1958[10](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/the-football-rich-list-2026-the-50-wealthiest-people-in-the-game). He attended the [University of Tennessee](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-tennessee), graduating in 1976, and joined the Pilot board in 1975 at age 20 while still a senior, when the company's annual revenues were about $50 million[2](https://volopedia.lib.utk.edu/entries/james-a-haslam-iii/) • [4](https://www.forbes.com/profile/jimmy-haslam/).
His early work shaped the company's direction. In the early 1980s he planned the expansion that added diesel pumps for truckers, the start of Pilot's travel-center business, with the first Pilot travel center opening in Corbin, Kentucky[2](https://volopedia.lib.utk.edu/entries/james-a-haslam-iii/). He became CEO of Pilot Corporation in the mid-1990s, and in 2001 signed the agreement creating Pilot Travel Centers LLC as a 50-50 venture with Marathon Ashland Petroleum, with 235 locations and about 11,000 employees at the outset[2](https://volopedia.lib.utk.edu/entries/james-a-haslam-iii/). In 2010 Pilot Travel Centers merged with Flying J Inc. to form Pilot Flying J, the largest operator of travel centers in North America[3](https://alumni.utk.edu/jimmy-haslam-76/). Haslam later served as chairman of the board of Pilot Company from 2020 to 2023[5](https://haslamsports.com/leadership/dee-and-jimmy-haslam/).
## Purchase of the Cleveland Browns
Haslam became a minority owner of the [Pittsburgh Steelers](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh-steelers) in 2008, the first time ownership of that franchise expanded beyond the Rooney and McGinley families; he sold his Steelers interest in October 2012 when he and Dee Haslam acquired primary ownership of the Cleveland Browns[3](https://alumni.utk.edu/jimmy-haslam-76/). The $1.05 billion purchase was nearly double what Al Lerner had paid to re-establish the team in 1999[1](https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2024/11/19/cleveland-browns-ownership-jimmy-dee-haslam) • [11](https://case.edu/ech/articles/c/cleveland-browns).
The new ownership immediately restructured the football operation. Team president [Mike Holmgren](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-holmgren) was bought out and head coach [Pat Shurmur](https://www.edgepedia.org/pat-shurmur) was fired; Joe Banner became chief executive officer and hired Rob Chudzinski as head coach in 2013[11](https://case.edu/ech/articles/c/cleveland-browns). What followed was a long stretch of instability: Chudzinski lasted one season, and the franchise cycled through general managers including Mike Lombardi, Ray Farmer, Sashi Brown, and John Dorsey[11](https://case.edu/ech/articles/c/cleveland-browns). The 2016 and 2017 seasons produced records of 1-15 and 0-16, the latter making the Browns just the second team in NFL history to go winless[11](https://case.edu/ech/articles/c/cleveland-browns).
**The 2020 high point and the Watson trade.** Under general manager Andrew Berry and head coach [Kevin Stefanski](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-stefanski), hired in January 2020, the Browns won eleven games and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2002, beating [Pittsburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh) 48-37 in the wild-card round for the franchise's first playoff win since 1994[11](https://case.edu/ech/articles/c/cleveland-browns) • [12](https://site1.midtcweb.com/ecore/timesleader/TIM010626final.pdf). The acquisition of quarterback [Deshaun Watson](https://www.edgepedia.org/deshaun-watson) in 2022, on a five-year fully guaranteed contract worth $230 million, became the defining setback of the tenure; Haslam said at the league meetings in 2025 that the Browns "took a big swing and miss" with the trade and needed to "dig ourselves out of that hole"[12](https://site1.midtcweb.com/ecore/timesleader/TIM010626final.pdf). In January 2026 Haslam said ownership took full responsibility: "To win eight games in two years is horrible. Todd Monken, hired as head coach in 2026, is the seventh coach hired by the Haslams since 2012; the previous six compiled a 73-139-1 regular-season record[9](https://apnews.com/article/d4b1e6a527fe3a5aa808b27a5851caa3).
## Pilot Flying J investigation
In 2013 the FBI and IRS raided Pilot Flying J's Knoxville headquarters over an alleged scheme in which employees cheated trucking companies out of rebates on diesel fuel pricing[1](https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2024/11/19/cleveland-browns-ownership-jimmy-dee-haslam) • [2](https://volopedia.lib.utk.edu/entries/james-a-haslam-iii/). Several executives and staffers pleaded guilty to the scheme, and the company paid $92 million in criminal penalties and $85 million in civil settlements[1](https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2024/11/19/cleveland-browns-ownership-jimmy-dee-haslam). Jimmy Haslam, who was CEO at the time, was never formally charged with a crime and has denied knowledge of the wrongdoing[1](https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2024/11/19/cleveland-browns-ownership-jimmy-dee-haslam).
## Haslam Sports Group
Dee and Jimmy Haslam, along with their daughter Whitney Haslam Johnson and son-in-law JW Johnson, founded Haslam Sports Group (HSG) in 2020 as the holding vehicle for the family's sports investments[6](https://haslamsports.com/about/). Its portfolio includes ownership of the Cleveland Browns, operating rights to [Major League Soccer](https://www.edgepedia.org/major-league-soccer)'s Columbus Crew, a controlling interest in the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, and investments in the WNBA and a Columbus NWSL expansion franchise[6](https://haslamsports.com/about/) • [13](https://apnews.com/article/831f8b7b22511c2f8f9c6797881a914c).
The Crew acquisition in 2018-2019 kept the club in Columbus after a proposed relocation to Texas, and the team won [MLS Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/mls-cup) in 2020 and 2023[10](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/the-football-rich-list-2026-the-50-wealthiest-people-in-the-game). Haslam's brother Bill, the former Tennessee governor, bought the [Nashville Predators](https://www.edgepedia.org/nashville-predators) in the same era of family sports expansion[14](https://gab-commentary-pdf.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/SoccerIndustry2024-Whitepaper.pdf).
## The Brook Park stadium
Stadium discussions began in 2018, initially centered on renovating the Browns' lakefront home, which opened in 1999 as Cleveland Browns Stadium[8](https://apnews.com/article/779dc41bbb15001be7aece476f7ce24f). The plan that emerged instead moves the team to Brook Park, next to [Cleveland Hopkins International Airport](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland-hopkins-international-airport), for a $2.6 billion enclosed stadium and mixed-use development[8](https://apnews.com/article/779dc41bbb15001be7aece476f7ce24f). The Haslam family's personal investment was raised to $1.755 billion, 67.5 percent of the project cost, with $845 million in public investment covered by project-generated tax revenue[7](https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/the-haslam-family-increases-personal-investment-in-new-huntington-bank-field-project). The 67,500-seat venue, designed by HKS, is intended to host events such as NCAA Final Fours, international soccer, and concerts[7](https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/the-haslam-family-increases-personal-investment-in-new-huntington-bank-field-project).
The move required resolving disputes with the City of Cleveland, which had invoked the Modell Law, an Ohio statute passed after Art Modell's 1995 relocation of the original Browns franchise[15](https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/haslam-sports-group-details-key-benefits-of-proposed-enclosed-huntington-bank-field). In October 2025 Mayor Justin Bibb and HSG announced a $100 million agreement: $25 million paid to the city by December 1, 2025, demolition of the current stadium to a pad-ready state at the Browns' expense, $5 million annually from 2029 through 2033, and at least $2 million per year for ten years of community benefit projects[16](https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/mayor-bibb-and-haslam-sports-group-reach-historic-100m-agreement-for-the-residents-of-the-city-of-cleveland-and-the-region). Cleveland City Council approved the reworked settlement 13-2 in December 2025[17](https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2025/12/03/cleveland-browns-deal-100-million-council-vote). Groundbreaking took place in 2026, with the stadium scheduled to open for the 2029 season; the state of Ohio's $600 million commitment was on hold during a class-action lawsuit over the funding mechanism[8](https://apnews.com/article/779dc41bbb15001be7aece476f7ce24f).
## Philanthropy
The Haslams have directed large gifts to their home institutions. In 2026 they announced a $130 million investment in the University of Tennessee for student success, scholarships, and faculty recruitment at the Haslam College of Business, which is named for Haslam's father[18](https://chancellor.utk.edu/2026/09/14/on-leadership-plowman-interviews-dee-and-jimmy-haslam-on-giving-back/). In 2026 they also donated $12.5 million toward blood cancer research, including $10 million to the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre in England for chronic lymphocytic leukemia research, a disease Dee Haslam was diagnosed with in 2021[13](https://apnews.com/article/831f8b7b22511c2f8f9c6797881a914c). Earlier commitments include $20 million to launch the University Hospitals Haslam Sports Innovation Center in Cleveland[4](https://www.forbes.com/profile/jimmy-haslam/).
## References
1. [Browns ownership faces scrutiny for team's woes, Axios Cleveland](https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2024/11/19/cleveland-browns-ownership-jimmy-dee-haslam)
2. [Haslam, James A., III, Volopedia, University of Tennessee Libraries](https://volopedia.lib.utk.edu/entries/james-a-haslam-iii/)
3. [Jimmy Haslam ('76), UT Knoxville Alumni](https://alumni.utk.edu/jimmy-haslam-76/)
4. [Jimmy Haslam, Forbes profile](https://www.forbes.com/profile/jimmy-haslam/)
5. [Dee and Jimmy Haslam, Haslam Sports Group](https://haslamsports.com/leadership/dee-and-jimmy-haslam/)
6. [About, Haslam Sports Group](https://haslamsports.com/about/)
7. [The Haslam family increases personal investment in new Huntington Bank Field project, ClevelandBrowns.com](https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/the-haslam-family-increases-personal-investment-in-new-huntington-bank-field-project)
8. [Haslam breaks ground on Browns' $2.6B domed stadium set to open in 2029, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/779dc41bbb15001be7aece476f7ce24f)
9. [Browns trading Myles Garrett to Rams, AP sources say, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/d4b1e6a527fe3a5aa808b27a5851caa3)
10. [The Football Rich List 2026, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/the-football-rich-list-2026-the-50-wealthiest-people-in-the-game)
11. [Cleveland Browns, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, Case Western Reserve University](https://case.edu/ech/articles/c/cleveland-browns)
12. [Times Leader NFL section, January 6, 2026](https://site1.midtcweb.com/ecore/timesleader/TIM010626final.pdf)
13. [Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam donate $12.5 million toward blood cancer research, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/831f8b7b22511c2f8f9c6797881a914c)
14. [Gabelli & Company Soccer Industry white paper (2024)](https://gab-commentary-pdf.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/SoccerIndustry2024-Whitepaper.pdf)
15. [Haslam Sports Group details key benefits of proposed enclosed Huntington Bank Field, ClevelandBrowns.com](https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/haslam-sports-group-details-key-benefits-of-proposed-enclosed-huntington-bank-field)
16. [Mayor Bibb and Haslam Sports Group reach historic $100M agreement, ClevelandBrowns.com](https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/mayor-bibb-and-haslam-sports-group-reach-historic-100m-agreement-for-the-residents-of-the-city-of-cleveland-and-the-region)
17. [Cleveland OKs $100M Browns deal, Axios Cleveland](https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2025/12/03/cleveland-browns-deal-100-million-council-vote)
18. [On Leadership: Plowman interviews Dee and Jimmy Haslam, University of Tennessee Chancellor's Office](https://chancellor.utk.edu/2026/09/14/on-leadership-plowman-interviews-dee-and-jimmy-haslam-on-giving-back/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › American football players, coaches, and executives › Football executives*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license