Ohio Republicans debate over subsidizing Browns’ stadium

While football fans might see the Cleveland Browns as a charity case, the team is actually a for-profit enterprise. Since Dee and Jimmy Haslam bought the team in August 2012, the franchise has increased in value fivefold from less than $1 billion to more than $5 billion, outpacing the stock market by about 50%.

The Browns’ product, football games, is fairly easy to monetize: Charge television stations for the right to broadcast games, and charge fans for the right to enter the stadium to watch home games live. Plus, get a cut of the action anytime someone buys Browns merchandise.