The Miami Dolphins and club owner Stephen Ross, according to the NFL, have regularly contacted Tom Brady while he was under contract with another organization and suggested throughout the 2019 season that the team should lose games to improve its draft position.
The day after the Dolphins play their sixth game of the upcoming season, on October 17, Ross will be suspended by the NFL until payment of a $1.5 million fine.
Ross was also permanently removed from all league committees and prohibited from attending any league meetings until the following year.
Miami Dolphins are also penalised, losing their first-round and third-round picks in the 2023 and 2024 drafts, respectively.
The vice chairman and limited partner of the organization, Bruce Beal, who handled some of the inappropriate contacts, was also fined $500,000 by the NFL in addition to Ross.
NFL vs Miami Dolphins: The Tampering Allegations
The NFL claims its investigation determined the Dolphins violated the league’s anti-tampering rules three times when they twice contacted Tom Brady and inquired about hiring Sean Payton’s agent without first getting permission from the Saints.
Brady’s future was up for debate when the Dolphins’ Beal first contacted him in August 2019, according to the NFL, even though he was still under contract with the New England Patriots.
When the Dolphins contacted Payton’s agent, Don Yee, before the successful coach announced his retirement in January, the NFL claimed that the team had violated the rules once more.
NFL Vs Dolphins: Tanking Allegations
In order to secure a strong position in the upcoming draft, Miami’s leadership reportedly wanted to “tank” in 2019, losing games. Former Dolphins Coach Brian Flores previously stated this. The NFL claims that it has established that the team did not purposefully lose games, but it also claims that owner Ross frequently expressed his desire for the team to put a strong draft position ahead of victories.
Nevertheless, the NFL inquiry discovered that Ross regularly told Flores and other Dolphins executives that the team’s draft position mattered more than its win-loss record.
A claim that Ross proposed to pay Flores $100,000 for each game he lost appears to be supported by the NFL investigation, however it is noted that the specifics around those remarks are murky and that neither Flores, Ross, or anyone else on the team pursued the notion.
