Three Reasons Why the Cleveland Browns Have Never Made It to a Super Bowl

As the NFL gears up for their biggest party of the year, the Cleveland Browns are, once again, invited.

Along with the Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, the Browns are one of four teams to never appear in a Super Bowl, as we approach the 60th edition of the biggest game in pro football. Of course, Jags and Texans get somewhat of a pass, as they’ve played far fewer seasons.

But Cleveland, a powerhouse franchise in the 1950s and ‘60s, began to decline just as the league ushered a new era with the AFL-NFL merger, common draft and Super Bowls.

So, why have the Browns never made it to a Super Bowl? Let's see:

Awful Ownership

Everything starts at the top.

Art Modell acquired the team in 1961. Loving the active general manager type role, he irritated legendary coach Paul Brown. A bitter rift among them involving a trade for Ernie Davis, his then-record contract and a debate over whether to play him or not after being diagnosed with leukemia led directly to Brown’s firing in 1963. Cleveland did manage to conquer its last NFL title in ‘64, the next-to-last season before The First AFL-NFL World Championship Game, now known retroactively as Super Bowl I, but so began the fall of the franchise.

Then came Modell’s stubborn stance on all-time great Jim Brown’s movie career, when he refused to let the all-world fullback miss training camp in 1966, moving him towards retirement while still in the peak of his career.

In the 1980’s, Marty Schottenheimer coached the team to three divisional titles, four postseason berths and two AFC Championship appearances in four years, before being fired by Modell because of clashes regarding the team’s staff. Schottenheimer’s successor, Bud Carson, lost a third AFC Championship Game to the Denver Broncos in four years, but was let go midway in his second season after a poor start. The team hasn’t won a division title since.

In 1994, Bill Belichick coached the team to a 11-5 record and the Browns last postseason win under Modell, but announcing midseason in '95 that the club was leaving Cleveland for Baltimore destroyed everything.

The Browns reappeared in 1999 under new owner Al Lerner, who actually helped Modell move the previous iteration of the team out of Cleveland. After his death in 2002, his son Randy Lerner took over. Under the Lerners, the Browns made the playoffs once (2002) and recorded double-digit wins once (2007). The younger Lerner was frequently accused of disengagement, devoting most of his attention to Aston Villa, the Premier League club he also owned.

Jimmy Haslam bought the team in 2012. He carries the dubious distinction of being the owner of the 0-16 team of 2017. But perhaps, the biggest black-eye of Haslam’s tenure has been the ill-fated 2022 deal for Deshaun Watson, arguably the worst trade in the history of the league.

The Quarterback Conundrum

The team that once fielded Hall of Famer Otto Graham and NFL MVP Brian Sipe can’t catch a break. Over the last three decades, the Browns have wasted first-round draft picks on Brady Quinn, Brandon Weeden and Johnny Manziel, and whiffed on free agents like Jeff Garcia, Trent Dilfer, Jake Delhomme, Jason Campbell and Jacoby Brissett, just to name a few.

And the Watson trade? He owns a 9-10 record in four years with the franchise and the team still owes him $46 million for the upcoming season, one where he isn’t slated to start.

First-Round Follies

Don’t let the Class of 2025 fool you: the Browns have made an art of missing on draft picks, especially at the very top.

To recall names like Mike Junkin, Tommy Vardell, William Green, Trent Richardson, Barkevious Mingo, Justin Gilbert, Danny Shelton, Cam Erving and Corey Coleman is an exercise of self-inflicted pain.

Nobody expects every first-rounder to become a Joe Thomas or Myles Garrett, but these are supposed to be foundational pieces, and a second contract is the very least you expect for such a heavy investment.

When the Browns are not throwing away picks like those three 22nd overall passers listed above or the three first rounders paid for Watson, the team has been more likely than not wasting valuable draft capital on players shipped out before their rookie contracts expire instead of helping for the long-term.

There's no cheaper way to build a contender than through the draft, but failing constantly becomes quite expensive. And the misses have multiplied exponentially in the last 30 years.