NFL levies punishment, suspension to Miami Dolphins, owner Stephen Ross for Tampering

NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported today that the NFL will be be handing down suspensions and docking draft picks for the Miami Dolphins after alleged tampering involving quarterback Tom Brady.

The Dolphins now have to forfeit their 2023 first round draft pick as well as their third round selection in the 2024 draft.

Additionally owner Stephen Ross will be suspended through October 17 and during his suspension won’t be allowed to be present in the team’s facility as well as any team or NFL events, and cannot attend any League meetings prior to the Annual Meeting in 2023. The NFL also fined Ross $1.5 million.

Dolphins Vice Chairman/Limited Partner Bruce Beal was also suspended from League meetings for the remainder of the 2022 season and was fined $500,000.

This punishment from the league follows offseason reports that current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and the Dolphins were having conversations of Brady joining the team during his short lived retirement during the offseason, and that the Brian Flores lawsuit essentially blew up the the mutual pursuit between Brady and the Dolphins.

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The investigation also revealed that the Dolphins conclusively violated the NFL’s Anti-Tampering Policy on three occasions; in 2019-2020 with Tom Brady when he was still under contract with the New England Patriots, in 2021 under contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (where it was discussed between Brady, Ross, and Beal about Brady being a limited partner and potentially a team executive and player on the Dolphins), and in January of 2022 in conversations with Sean Payton’s agent about him potentially being the Dolphins head coach prior to his retirement with the New Orleans Saints.

“The investigators found tampering violations of unprecedented scope and severity,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said.

The NFL’s findings also confirmed that the team did not try to intentionally lose games in the 2019 season. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross did express belief that the team’s 2020 draft position should take priority over the team’s win loss record with multiple members of the staff including head coach at the time Brian Flores, to which Flores expressed concern that was later met with assurance that him establishing a winning culture in Miami was supported by the whole staff including Ross.

Flores’ comment made about Ross offering him $100,000 to lose games was also deemed as an offer that wasn’t intended to be taken seriously, and that there were differing recollections of the wording, timing, and context of said statements.