BALTIMORE — In its present state, there is no NFL without former Ravens owner Art Modell, and the league needs to say thank you by inducting him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The NFL signed an 11-year, $111 billion media rights deal in July 2021, and the roots can be traced to Modell, who was chairman of the NFL’s media committee from 1962 to 1993.

Modell, who died in 2012 at the age of 87, is one of nine semifinalists in the Contributor category for the 2025 class. A committee will rubber stamp one finalist to be considered for enshrinement.

The others on the list of semifinalists include K.S. “Bud” Adams, Ralph Hay, Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Robert Kraft, Art Rooney Jr., Seymour Siwoff, Doug Williams and John Wooten. Wooten was a member of the Ravens’ front office from 1997 through 2003, but this is all about Modell.

“I have my fingers crossed and my toes crossed for Art and [his wife] Pat Modell,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “It is richly deserved, in my opinion. I love that guy. I love their family and what he’s done to make this organization what it is, so, Art Modell for the Hall of Fame.”

It’s really not that hard of a decision. All of the semifinalists have played major roles in the development of the league, and it’s hard to challenge the six Super Bowl titles won by New England Patriots owner Kraft.

But the NFL is about money, and few contributed more than Modell. His influence led to huge TV ratings and a rise in the league’s popularity.

Modell’s Browns were the first to play in a “Monday Night Football” broadcast on Sept. 21, 1970, against the New York Jets, which eventually led to Thursday and Sunday night games. Modell also helped create NFL Films, which is still a major staple.

His fingerprints are still all over the league.

In 1970, he agreed to move the Browns with the then-Baltimore Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers to the AFC as part of the NFL-AFL merger.

According to Scott Garceau, a longtime sportscaster who represents Baltimore on the Hall of Fame selection committee, Modell has been a finalist in the voting at least once and several times as a semifinalist.

But in the past, there was always something that kept him from being inducted. Either he didn’t win a Super Bowl title, or he fired popular Cleveland coach Paul Brown in 1963 or forced Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown to retire in 1966 while he was filming “The Dirty Dozen” in London.

There was always something.

They seemed to forget that Cleveland won the NFL championship in 1964 by beating the Colts, 27-0, and the field seemed to tilt Modell’s way after the Ravens won Super Bowl 35 in 2000.

But some of those on the selection committee simply could not forgive Modell from moving to Baltimore from Cleveland for the start of the 1996 season. They seemed to forget that the old Municipal Stadium was an embarrassment filled with porta-potties. Fans could walk straight from their stadium seats into the press box, and a lot of the seats were made of wood.

This isn’t to say that Modell didn’t struggle with the business end of the profession, but that stadium was a dump. Modell never got credit for the increase of new stadiums that were built around the country in Denver, Philadelphia, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, Detroit, Phoenix and Indianapolis. Two years before he moved to Baltimore, Modell reportedly lost $21 million.

Privately, Modell always told me he had planned to give Cleveland back its name and heritage even before the NFL got involved. He also shared that he had several conversations with Indianapolis owner Jim Irsay about buying back the Colts name, but Irsay wouldn’t relinquish the rights.

Yes, Modell made his share of mistakes, but Brown always endorsed Modell’s enshrinement into the Hall of Fame. There can be no more excuses.

Under Modell, the Browns had a proud heritage and history on the field, creating classic moments such as “The Drive” in 1986 and “The Fumble” in 1987 in playoff losses to the Denver Broncos.

Now, look on the other side. Since returning to the league in 1999, the Browns have a 140-270-1 record, including an 0-16 season in 2017. They’ve had 38 starting quarterbacks in that time.

“When you get into the football end of it, think about where the Browns have been since Art hasn’t owned the team, right?” Garceau said.

The relocation was a reality check, just as it was in Baltimore when the Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1984. Three owners already enshrined in the Hall of Fame — Al Davis, Lamar Hunt and Dan Reeves — moved their respective franchises.

Maybe this time, Modell finally gets in because he doesn’t have to compete with players such as Jonathan Odgen or Ray Lewis. In addition, the selection committee has changed and added some new members.

The dynamics might be different.

“He did some things that maybe weren’t in the best interest of the Cleveland Browns, but it was good for the league and he took the hit,” Garceau said. “Guys like Jim Brown and a lot of the Cleveland people came out strong and maybe they didn’t like the move, but Art should be in the Hall of Fame.”

If there was no Art Modell, maybe there would be no Monday, Thursday or Sunday night football. Maybe there wouldn’t have been a merger between the two leagues, and certainly the billions of dollars in TV money.

That alone should get him. The story of the NFL can’t be told without Art Modell.

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