Jim Donovan Makes Devastating Announcement Before Browns' Season Opener

The Cleveland Browns will officially open Week 1 of the 2024 regular season at home on Sept. 8 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Browns fans cannot wait for the home opener as this team is loaded on both sides of the ball and should be competitive in one of the best divisions in football. However, before fans look ahead to kickoff, they received sad news about the team’s play-by-play announcer.

According to Dan Labbe of Cleveland.com, longtime Browns play-by-play broadcaster Jim Donovan announced on Thursday that he’s called his final game for the organization.

Donovan, who has been the radio voice of the Browns since 1999, penned a letter to the fans about his fight with cancer, which has “returned very aggressively.”

“Unfortunately, I will not be calling the (Cowboys) game on the Browns Radio Network. I have called my last Browns game and that’s why I’m writing to you,” Donovan penned via the team’s website.

"As many of you know I have been dealing with cancer for many years. I’ve gone through every treatment imaginable. But my cancer is a defiant opponent and has returned and very aggressively. This will require me to devote everything I have in me to continue the fight and my family and I are committed to doing that."

- Jim Donovan

Last year, Cleveland’s PxP announcer announced in May that his leukemia relapsed, and underwent more aggressive treatment. 

Donovan was initially diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2000 and underwent a bone marrow transplant in the summer of 2011. In the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals last year, Donovan said he would take a medical leave of absence. But he made a triumphant return to the booth in Week 11.

Browns fans in Cleveland and across the country are hoping for the best for Donovan as he played a huge part in the local sports scene doing radio and television.

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