PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : AFC : Browns Reportedly Will Be Moving to Baltimore

The Cleveland Browns will announce Monday that they are moving to Baltimore, according to a television report.

WBAL-TV in Baltimore, citing sources it did not identify, reported Friday night that the state of Maryland will provide $2 million for improvements to Memorial Stadium, which will be home to the Browns for two seasons until a $200-million state-funded stadium is built next to Camden Yards in downtown Baltimore.

The television station also reported that the deal includes an up-front payment of $50 million to the Browns’ owners. The money would come from the sale of private seat licenses, which are purchased by football fans for the right to buy season tickets.

Meanwhile, Art Modell, owner of the Browns, remained tight-lipped.

“Who is saying it? Let me see who is saying it. I’m not going to say anything,” Modell said when asked about a Monday news conference.

Modell has denied categorically that the Browns are for sale, but has refused for months to promise that they are staying in Cleveland.

The Baltimore Sun also reported Friday that the Browns and state officials are believed to have signed the outline of a deal.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello in New York said he could not comment on the reports, except to say Baltimore’s status would be discussed in depth when NFL owners meet in Dallas on Tuesday.

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Joe King, who first played in the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1991, will make his first start for the Oakland Raiders against his former team. King, 27, will fill in for free safety Eddie Anderson, who has a pulled hamstring. Anderson missed practice Friday and is not expected to play Sunday at Riverfront Stadium.