Charles Woodson, center, celebrates Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Michigan legend and NFL Hall of Famer Charles Woodson approved for NFL ownership

Originally posted on Michigan Wolverines on SI
By Jerred Johnson | Last updated May 21, 2025 4:42 PM ET

Fromer Michigan Wolverine great Charles Woodson is a winner, plain and simple. He won in high school where he was one of the highest rated recruits in the nation. He went to Michigan and won a National Championship and became the first defensive player ever to win a Heisman Trophy. Naturally, when he hit the NFL he became a winner, claiming a Super Bowl in in 2011 with the Green Bay Packers.

After retiring and being inducted in the Hall of Fame Woodson turned his eyes to another arena, entrepreneurship. He has built a thriving wine and whiskey brand in his own name. Winning in the business world for Woodson should have caught nobody by surprise.

Now he is trying his hand in NFL ownership. Woodson was approved for a non-controlling minority interest limited partnership with the Cleveland Browns during the NFL spring meetings. The news was shared by NFL insider Adam Schefter.

Hall-of-Famer Charles Woodson was approved at today’s league meeting as a limited partner to the ownership group for the Cleveland Browns. pic.twitter.com/WqEueLxBpT
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 20, 2025

While the details of the financials have not been released, Woodson himself had this to say about his newest venture.

"Growing up in Fremont, Ohio, it was a dream come true to play in the National Football League. In my wildest childhood dreams, I never considered the opportunity to become a limited partner of an NFL team, let alone the Cleveland Browns in my home state of Ohio. It is among my greatest honors to join the Haslam and Johnson families and the entire Haslam Sports Group to become a limited partner of the Cleveland Browns, one of the NFL's most storied franchises"NF Hall of Famer Charles Woodson

The Cleveland Browns are one of the most storied franchises in NFL history, that is not disputed, but recently they are on the most hapless as well. Perhaps Woodson can bring a new way of looking at things and a winning mentality that the Browns have not seen since the 1980's.

This article first appeared on Michigan Wolverines on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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