By Dr. Robert J. Romano, JD, LLM, St. John’s University, Senior Writer
The Miami Dolphins and team Chairman and General Partner, Stephen M. Ross, after a six-month investigation, were found to have violated the NFL’s anti-tampering rules and ‘integrity of the game’ policy and as a result will be subject to fines, suspensions, and the loss of future draft picks. The NFL’s investigation into the Miami franchise, which arose from information garnered from the racial discrimination lawsuit filed by former Dolphins’ head coach Brian Flores against the NFL, focused on two areas of concern:
(1) Whether the Dolphins violated League rules prohibiting tampering with players and coaches under contract to other clubs; and
(2) Whether, during the 2019 season, the Dolphins intentionally lost games to improve the club’s draft position in the 2020 draft, and whether Stephen Ross offered former head coach Brian Flores financial incentives or otherwise encouraged him to lose games.[1]
As for the anti-tampering allegations, the investigation discovered that a representative from Miami’s front office, Mr. Bruce Beal, at the behest of Mr. Ross, had ‘numerous’ and detailed’ impermissible communications during the 2019 season and postseason with then New England Patriot quarterback Tom Brady in an attempt to have him put on a Dolphins’ uniform. Neither undeterred or discouraged, the team again had improper contact with Mr. Brady during the 2021 season, this time while he was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and even upped the ante by offering him a partnership stake in the franchise.[2]
In addition, the Dolphins were also found to have improperly tried to persuade Sean Payton to become their head coach while he was still under contract and coaching the New Orleans Saints. As per the investigation’s findings, without seeking the consent of the Saints organization, in January 2022, ‘the Dolphins had impermissible communications with Don Yee, Sean Payton’s agent, about having Coach Payton serve as the future head coach of the Dolphins.’[3]
Regarding the allegations that Mr. Ross asked Coach Flores to deliberately lose games during the 2019 season as a way to improve their 2020 college draft position (what is commonly referred to as ‘tanking’) and that he offered the coach a financial incentive of up to $100,000 per loss to encourage him to do so, the investigation established that any such statements were ‘not intended or taken to be a serious offer, nor was the subject pursued in any respect by Mr. Ross or anyone else at the club.’[4] This finding was based on the fact that, as stated in the NFL’s press release, ‘the Dolphins competed hard to win every game, including at the end of the season when they beat Cincinnati and New England, despite worsening Miami’s position in the 2020 draft.’[5]
What is remarkable (and somewhat astonishing) about the determination that these statements were not ‘serious in nature’ is twofold: (1) Mr. Ross, on more than one occasion ‘expressed his belief that the Dolphins’ position in the upcoming 2020 draft should take priority over the team’s win-loss record and conveyed these comments to Team President and CEO Tom Garfinkel, General Manager Chris Grier, Senior Vice President Brandon Shore, and Coach Flores,’[6] and (2) these comments were serious enough that Brian Flores ‘expressed his concerns in writing to senior club executives.’[7] However, with the pending litigation between Coach Flores and the NFL concerning these same or similar issues, one could not imagine the NFL or its ‘investigators’ reaching any other conclusion – doing so would help in bolstering the Coach’s alleged claims.
As a result of violating the NFL’s anti-tampering rules and ‘integrity of the game policy’, the Miami Dolphins will forfeit their first-round selection in the 2023 draft and third-round selection in the 2024 draft.[8] As for Mr. Ross, he will face a suspension lasting until October 17, 2022, during which time he cannot be present at any Dolphins’ facility, nor can he represent the franchise at any team or NFL meeting or event. In addition, he will be removed from all NFL related committees for an indefinite period of time and is subject to a fine in the amount of $1.5 million.[9] With Mr. Ross’s net worth estimated at $7.7 billion,[10] his NFL sanctioned fine, when equated against a typical U.S citizen whose net worth averages around $121,700,[11] has an impact value of approximately $24.00 – a weighty deterrent against any future rule violations.
[1] https://nflcommunications.com/Pages/NFL-ANNOUNCES-FINDINGS-AND-DISCIPLINE–FOLLOWING-INDEPENDENT-INVESTIGATION-OF–INTEGRITY-OF-THE-GAME-POLICY-VIOLATIONS-BY–.aspx
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/02/sports/football/miami-dolphins-tampering.html
[3] https://nflcommunications.com/Pages/NFL-ANNOUNCES-FINDINGS-AND-DISCIPLINE–FOLLOWING-INDEPENDENT-INVESTIGATION-OF–INTEGRITY-OF-THE-GAME-POLICY-VIOLATIONS-BY–.aspx
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/business-executives/stephen-ross-net-worth/
[11] https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/average-net-worth/
