<P> The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio . The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division . The Browns play their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium, which opened in 1999, with administrative offices and training facilities in Berea, Ohio . The Browns' official colors are brown, orange and white . They are unique among the 32 member franchises of the NFL in that they do not have a logo on their helmets . </P> <P> The franchise was founded in 1945 by businessman Arthur B. McBride and coach Paul Brown as a charter member of the All - America Football Conference (AAFC). The Browns dominated the AAFC, compiling a 47--4--3 record in the league's four seasons and winning its championship in each of them . When the AAFC folded after the 1949 season, the Browns joined the National Football League along with the San Francisco 49ers and the original Baltimore Colts . The Browns won a championship in their inaugural NFL season, as well as in the 1954, 1955, and 1964 seasons, and in a feat unequaled in any of the North American major professional sports, played in their league championship game in each of the Browns' first ten years of existence . From 1965 to 1995, they made the playoffs 14 times, but did not win another championship or appear in the Super Bowl during that period . </P> <P> In 1995, owner Art Modell, who had purchased the Browns in 1961, announced plans to move the team to Baltimore, Maryland . After threats of legal action from the city of Cleveland and fans, a compromise was reached in early 1996 that allowed Modell to establish the Baltimore Ravens as a new franchise while retaining the contracts of all Browns personnel . The Browns' intellectual property, including team name, logos, training facility, and history, were kept in trust and the franchise was regarded by the NFL as suspended, with a new team to be established by 1999 either by expansion or relocation . The Browns were announced as an expansion team in 1998 and resumed play in 1999 . </P> <P> Since resuming operations in 1999, the Browns have struggled to find success . They have had only two winning seasons (in 2002 and 2007), one playoff appearance (2002), and no playoff wins . The franchise has also been noted for a lack of stability with quarterbacks, having started 28 players in the position since 1999 . Through the end of the 2017 season, the Browns' win--loss record since returning to the NFL in 1999 is 88--216 . In 2017, the Browns became only the second team in league history to finish a season with an 0--16 record, joining the 2008 Detroit Lions, and after the Buffalo Bills broke their 17 - year playoff drought in 2017, the Browns now also hold the longest active playoff drought in the NFL, at 15 seasons . </P>

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