1997 Topps Football Forum

Does anyone know why the Cleveland Browns we’re not included in the 1997 Topps set?

There were no Cleveland Browns in 1997, they moved to Baltimore in 1996.  The Browns didn't exist from 1996-1998.

and the Ravens cards in 1996 Topps (and all the other companies) have the players in their Browns uniforms, but Baltimore and Cleveland are considered separate franchises

Yep. The Browns were "stolen in the night" by Baltimore, just like Indy stole the Colts from Baltimore back in the day. The current Cleveland Browns team is not the original organization. The NFL allowed them to re-start the team and then added the Houston Texans in 2001 to balance the AFC to have equal teams with the NFC.

ehhh wasn't exactly the same. The Browns knew they were leaving in November 1995, played out the rest of the year and got a proper sendoff from the fans after the final home game. There were multiple attempts to get a team back in Baltimore (they were passed over for Jacksonville when the league expanded and a few other existing teams could've ended up there) and eventually Art Modell agreed to move his team there, with the condition that all Browns history had to stay in Cleveland, so the current Browns do have the history of the older Browns.

NFL PrimeTime highlights of that final home game