National Football League

Haslam has no plans to sell Browns

Published Jul. 8, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

A spokesman for Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam says Haslam has no plans to sell the franchise despite legal troubles with the company he runs.

FBI agents say transcripts of secretly recorded calls among Pilot Flying J employees reveal a scheme to defraud trucking companies of fuel rebates, and five members of the sales staff at the nation's largest diesel retailer have pleaded guilty to fraud.

Haslam has said he was unaware of the scheme.

In a story published Sunday on the ESPN Cleveland website, Haslam said he intends to own the Browns ''for a long time.''

And in a statement issued Monday, Pilot Flying J spokesman Tom Ingram said, ''We expect no change in Mr. Haslam's relationship with the NFL and/or his ownership of the Browns.''