PT: We had a good meeting with the seven groups that have been publicly identified as currently pursuing the Cleveland Browns franchise. I have spoken with them and I will try to be responsive to your particular interests.

Q: What will be the process from here?

PT: The process from now until September 8 will be that my office will work with our special expansion committee, and with Goldman Sachs -- and with other potential applicants – to determine who the final applicants should be. They will then be presented to the ownership on September 8 for a vote by the membership. The resolution says that there will be at least two definitive agreements presented with at least two of the groups so that the league’s membership will have a choice to make. There may be more than two, though.

Q: Will today’s groups make another presentation?

PT: We don’t believe that if a group made a presentation today that there would be a need for a repeat presentation. Conceivably, if there was a group that hasn’t identified itself publicly, maybe we’d have them make a presentation, but that’s just speculation.

Q: You believe today’s process will help you whittle down the prospective groups?

PT: Today’s process is not part of the whittling down. It’s a chance for the ownership to see everybody and meet everybody. They will learn why they want to own the Browns, why they want to get involved in the NFL, etc. The whittling down process will go on from here and culminate on September 8.

Q: Is there a final bid date?

PT: We haven’t arrived at a date for that yet, but we’ll work on that in the next few days, in order to come up with a date by which they should submit a final bid. That in turn becomes part of the final negotiating process. I think each of these groups will make a final bid, and maybe some others as well.

Q: Will there be one final candidate?

PT: No. I said there would be at least two candidates presented with definitive agreements, negotiated and executed and our membership would have a choice from at least two. Obviously we’ll select just one owner.

Q: Will group A know what group B’s bid is?

PT: I wouldn’t think so.

Q: Will the owners be voting on each bid?

PT: We want to come in with something that is definitive, so we’re going to come in with agreements that are negotiated and signed. Then we’ll be in a position to go to closing with either one of those parties, depending on which one is selected by the membership.

Q: How will the other groups be notified that they are out of the running?

PT: They’ll be notified sometime between now and September 8. There could be new applicants or new bidders between now and then.

Q: Jerry (Jones) said you’d take bids right until the end?

PT: We’ll consider bids until the meeting starts. If the meeting starts at 1:00 pm, we’ll take offers up until then. Not just bids but signed offers. Once we go into the meeting, we’ll have people who have documents that say, ‘I am committed to go to closing if I am selected today’.

Q: Does the search for new bidders mean you are not satisfied with the current groups?

PT: We think we have seven very well qualified, experienced groups and we are happy to be dealing with the groups we are dealing with.

Q: Could two groups merge?

PT: If they want to merge, they have to start talking. That’s their prerogative.

Q: Can you go back to candidate B and say, ‘If you really want the team you’re going to have to increase your bid.’

PT: That’s what I alluded to when I alluded to the negotiating process. It’s customary in the business world when you are dealing with the sale of a business asset. These people have all been involved with a managed process like this before and we all understand how it will evolve. There would be an opportunity to present a final bid for negotiation up to the September 8 meeting. The process will take place between now and the September 8 meeting.

Q: The final agreements will depend on how much money is negotiated?

PT: That’s the nature of the business. It’s theoretically possible that we will have agreements with all seven groups.

Q: What if two bids split the votes?

PT: There is a provision in the bylaws that states the admission of a new member club requires an affirmative vote of three-fourths of the existing member clubs. That requires 23 clubsto approve. There is another provision which states that provision cannot be modified or changed unless there's unanimous consent of the membership. We felt it was most appropriate to have all of the members participating in the final decision and voting in the customary manner.

Q: Have you assured the Dolans that your cross ownership rule won’t be a problem?

PT: I don’t want to go into discussions we’ve had with one group or another. What I will say is that we’ve had discussions with the Dolans about cross-ownership rules and structures that would be in compliance with cross-ownership rules we have.

Q: Does Jeremy Jacobs currently comply?

PT: No. Our policy does not permit an owner of a NFL team to own a pro team in another NFL city. But we are having ongoing discussions on that subject.

Q: Did any potential owners seem to separate themselves today?

PT: The membership is here to see all of these people. We did the same thing in October of several years ago when we had the candidates from several cities make presentations during our last round of expansion. Baltimore was represented back then by both the Glazers and Weinglass groups, so we’ve had similar types of meetings where we had eight to ten presentations from different groups seeking to acquire an NFL franchise. There is nothing unusual about this process we had today. It goes to the issues of qualifications: experience, ties to the community, and other things which most of our clubs have said are important.

Q: What other groups are out there?

PT: The seven groups we had today have been publicly identified. Other than that I am not at liberty to comment on who is there. That’s the nature of public identification vs. non-public identification.

Q: When will the Expansion Committee meet?

PT: We don’t have a specific schedule. We’ll probably meet by conference call. All of the owners are getting ready for the season. Two members, New England and Denver, are playing the night before the meeting. I am sure we’ll use the telephone system.

Q: Can you get a consensus by September 8?

PT: I really cannot say. There could be a rapid consensus, then again maybe it does not develop rapidly. Either way we will get a consensus.

Q: Will you keep voting to get the consensus?

PT: If it was a 16-14 vote, we would keep talking and voting until someone gets 23 votes. The resolution has a provision in there that if we have more than two candidates presented for final consideration, we would use a majority vote process to determine who would be the two finalists in the eyes of the membership at that September 8 meeting.

Q: How will the candidates be eliminated?

PT: Under the resolution, every candidate will continue in the process. If they are to be eliminated it has to be with the approval of the special expansion committee. The committee will be recommending for the membership the candidates to be considered on September 8.

Q: How long will the meeting be?

PT: It could be a very long meeting. It could last until September 9 or 10 or 11.

Q: Will you be making a recommendation?

PT: I’ll work with the committee and I expect I will.

Q: (inaudible)

PT: The consideration would be based upon value and qualifications, and not simply if someone is prepared to pay in cash or in installment terms. They are the same factors that we established in May -- community ties, business experience, financial capabilities, cohesiveness of the group. They will all be considerations and weighed in the final analysis.