The city of Cleveland already saw one owner steal the Browns away from them. Art Modell abandoned the city and relocated to Baltimore, unable to preserve the name, thus birthing the Ravens. Cleveland has since passed the Modell Law, which it is now invoking in a lawsuit against the current iteration of the Browns.
As part of Modell’s move, the NFL required that the Cleveland Browns be preserved in Cleveland. Returning as an expansion team in 1999, the current team retains all of the organization’s records. Now current owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam want to take the Browns out of Cleveland; the city is fighting back.