Runs with Browns, Buffalo Bills help XFL executive plot course for approaching 2023 season

CANTON TWP. − Erica Muhleman wanted to be a doctor.

How she detoured into operating in the business affairs of the Cleveland Browns, the Buffalo Bills and now the XFL is a long story she shared with the Hall of Fame Luncheon Club Monday.

Muhleman graduated from Louisville High School in 1992, aiming to enter pre-med at Ohio University. By 1998, she was in a marketing job she disliked. She jumped at a chance to join the expansion Browns.

"I took a $10,000 pay cut," she said, "but it was the best career move I could have made."

She digested a tidal wave of learning about pro sports revenue streams. The small-market Browns led the NFL in sponsorship revenue in 1999.

"It was an incredible win on the business side," she said.

On the football side, owner Al Lerner and right-hand man Carmen Policy agreed to fire head coach Chris Palmer after the team went 2-14 and 3-13. Palmer was replaced by a big name, Butch Davis, whose myriad connections included having coached Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson with the Miami Hurricanes.

That name, "The Rock," is a more tangible part of Muhleman's life now. Johnson is the face man in the group that collectively owns the eight XFL teams that are scheduled to begin play in Februrary. Muhleman is the XFL's chief revenue officer.

Her road started in Cleveland.

"I had an amazing five years with the Browns," she said. "It had its positives. It had its negatives."

"I was in the booth that was the command center when all the bottles started flying in Bottlegate."

Bottlegate blew across the Lake Erie shore late in a home game vs. Jacksonville on Dec. 16, 2001, after a Tim Couch pass to Quincy Morgan was ruled incomplete.

"Things changed after that," Muhleman said. "The number of beers you can buy, when you cut off the alcolohol … that started with Bottlegate."

Lerner died midway through the 2002 season. His son Randy inherited ownership.

"The leadership started to change," Muhleman said. "I'm not saying the leadership mindset was bad. It was just different. The leadership came from New York."

Pro sports journey continues with IMG, Buffalo Bills

She left after five years for a job with sports management giant IMG. She witnessed the world of sports agents and endorsements and had brushes with the stars.

She said an IMG event starring Joe Montana in California wine country might have been "the highlight of my husband's life."

"I thought I was going to lose my job," she said. "Joe was enjoying himself and he kept ordering more expensive bottles of wine."

She rubbed shoulders with Tiger Woods and the Manning brothers but after five years with IMG, missed working for an NFL team. The Buffalo Bills needed help managing corporate partnerships and employed Muhleman in that area for nearly seven years.

Amid an ownership change following the death of Ralph Wilson, Muhleman eventually lost her job in Buffalo.

"I was fortunate," she said. "I had two years left on my contract, so I was getting my full salary for two years. As bad as it was in the moment, it also was one of the best moments. It gave me an opportunity as a female in business to reflect back.

"When I told our son that mom is no longer working for the Buffalo Bills, his first comment was, 'Does that mean you're going to be home on the weekends now?'"

Returning home to Stark County

When she landed an executive-level job with Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Company in September of 2020, it meant going home. She and Steve and their sixth-grade son moved to Jackson Township.

She kept the job for 20 months, leaving with an optimistic view of Hall of Fame Village.

"There was incredible growth," she said. "There's a lot more to be done, but they are going to make it something truly special.

"I wasn't looking to move on. I got a call one day from the former president of the Buffalo Bills (Russ Brandon), who is now the president of the XFL."

Brandon sold her on the ownership group. When it became clear she could work out of Stark County, she took the job.

The original XFL, launched in 2001 by wrestling magnate Vince McMahon, was supposed to be a wilder brand of pro football than the NFL. McMahon headed a group that attempted a reboot in 2020, but that got side-swiped by COVID-19 and bankruptcy.

The Rock buys the XFL

In August 2020, Dwayne Johnson, with his longtime business partner and ex-wife Dany Garcia, led a group purchasing the XFL for a reported $15 million.

A 2023 season is scheduled to begin Feb. 18, four days after Super Bowl 57.

"We have partnered with the NFL to let us be the test league for innovation, for technology and for rules," Muhleman said. "Each coach will be able to challange any officiating call that happens during the game. A current NFL coach has been pushing this for years."

Certain decisions not subject to replay in 2022 NFL play will be fair game, she indicated. She did not identify the NFL coach.

The vast majority of XFL players are relative unknowns. One excpetion is A.J. McCarron, the former Alabama quarterback who came close to joining Hue Jackson's Browns as a starter in 2017.

What will most players earn to play an XFL season?

"Trust me, they will have to get other jobs," Muhleman said.

'It's an exciting time' awaiting start of XFL 2023 season

McCarron is on the roster of the St. Louis BattleHawks. There are some well-known names among head coaches, including Jim Haslett of the Seattle Sea Dragons. The former NFL head coach recently signed former Ohio State defensive tackle Antwuan Jackson, who went undrafted in 2021 and got a brief look from the New York Giants in 2022.

Wade Phillips, another former NFL head coach, has the reins of the Houston Roughnecks. The other head coaches are former Steelers receiver Hines Ward (San Antonio Brahmas), Hall of Fame defensive back Rod Woodson (Vegas Vipers), former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops (Arlington, Texas, Renegades), Reggie Barlow (DC Defenders), Terrell Buckley (Orlando Guardians), and Anthony Becht (St. Louis BattleHawks).

"It's an exciting time," Muhleman said. "It's my first chance to be part of a start-up league."

The XFL is not to be confused with another new pro league, the USFL, whose 2022 campaign ended with the championship game in Canton. The 2023 USFL season will start at about the time the XFL season ends.

From among the NFL, the XFL and the USFL, outdoor pro football basically will have been played year-round, as long as the latter two survive.

NEXT WEEK: The Hall of Fame Luncheon Club will not meet next Monday.

Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Erica Muhleman excited for new XFL pro football league's start