Browns owner Jimmy Haslam told the Knoxville News Sentinel that “unequivocally” he did not pay Hue Jackson to lose games.
“That is an absolute falsehood,” Haslam said. “And it’s also an absolute falsehood that I laughed while we were losing. Most people who know me would say, ‘That’s not how Jimmy would react to losing.’”
The former Browns coach and his foundation alleged on Tuesday that the franchise paid him to lose games during the 2016 and ’17 seasons. Jackson then clarified his comments Wednesday on ESPN’s SportsCenter, saying that the team had a four-year plan which incentivized losing.