Getty Incoming Baltimore Ravens president Sashi Brown (right) takes a photo at the 2016 NFL Honors.
The Baltimore Ravens have hired former Cleveland Browns executive Sashi Brown to replace longtime president Dick Cass, the team announced on the evening of February 4.
News trickled out throughout the day about Brown’s departure from his previous role with Monumental Sports and Entertainment before his move to Baltimore was officially announced.
Shams Charania of The Athletic was the first to report that Brown would be leaving his role as the President of Monumental Basketball, where he oversaw the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the WNBA’s Washington Mystics and the NBA G-League’s Capital City Go-Go basketball teams.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Adam Schefter later reported that Brown would be taking an executive position with the Ravens, with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport revealing that Brown would be replacing Cass as the Ravens’ team president.
The 76-year-old Cass was the first hire of Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti when Bisciotti became the team’s majority owner in 2004, per an official press release:
Since his 2004 Baltimore arrival, Cass has helped guide Ravens teams that have won five AFC North titles, clinched 10 postseason berths, appeared in three AFC Championship games and won one Super Bowl (XLVII in 2012). During his tenure, Baltimore has produced the NFL’s fifth-best overall winning percentage (.586), including the league’s third-best mark at home (.713).
Cass is beloved throughout the Ravens’ organization, as indicated by social media posts by All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley and former Ravens editor Sarah Ellison.
Gonna miss you, Dick Cass 💜
The move is the latest in a series of leadership changes in Baltimore, with Michigan Wolverines defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald replacing the departing Don “Wink” Martindale, as well as the usual offseason turnover in assistant coaches.
Brown’s NFL History
Brown started out as an attorney in Washington, D.C. after graduating from Harvard Law School, before Dick Cass, who Brown now replaces in Baltimore, recommended the then 29-year-old Brown to the Jacksonville Jaguars to become their new lead counsel in 2005, according to Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun.
After eight years in Jacksonville, Brown joined the Cleveland Browns as executive vice president and general counsel. He then became the team’s executive vice president of football operations and de facto general manager for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
The Browns went 1-27 with Brown as head of personnel, leading to his firing before the 2017 regular season even ended.
Brown’s Role in Baltimore
Though fans initially expressed concern over Brown’s hiring due to his lack of success in Cleveland, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti formally announced that Brown would be “leading and directing all of our stadium and business activities” on February 7.
Statement from Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti regarding new franchise president Sashi Brown and the retirement of Dick Cass.
The 45-year-old Brown is set to officially take over from Cass on April 1 after a transition period in March, at which point the Ravens will have replaced two of their top three leadership positions since 2019.
“Sashi, along with both general manager Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh, will each report directly to me,” said Bisciotti in a statement. “This trio, we believe, will help us stay at a championship level in all we do.
Bisciotti’s statement reaffirms recent reports that the Ravens are actively negotiating a contract extension with Harbaugh, whose current contract is set to expire after the 2022 season.