Nate Ulrich from the ABJ has the scoop that despite the NFL relaxing its blackout policy, that the Browns will continue on with business as usual.
“It’s a non-issue for us,” said Neal Gulkis, the Browns’ vice president of media relations. “Our fan support has been tremendous, and we fully expect that all of our games will be sold out and televised locally.”
As I’ve pointed out in the past, the Browns haven’t been blacked out despite some instances of corporations buying up seats at the last minute to avoid them. I know the Browns have done pretty well (exceptionally well considering the W/L records) but it also seems a bit strange that they would balk when the league obviously felt there was a reason to make the change. Then again, maybe the change was directed at fan bases that are less dogmatic about their football teams. If a team was faced with growing irrelevancy if not for local TV appearances, it might seem like a good deal to ease blackout restrictions.
Even with all their struggles on the field, the Browns just haven’t had to own up to anything approaching irrelevancy.
[Related: Browns attendance is actually below average]
