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There has to be a richer and more ironic word than luck to describe what is happening in the life of Dolphins owner Stephen Ross right now. We’ll get to the team’s stunning, three-touchdown comeback and the fact that Tua-Freaking-Tagovailoa threw six touchdown passes against the Ravens in a moment. But for now, let’s turn the clock back a few months (and years) to the secret recesses of their office buildings where a plot to subvert NFL rules was afoot.
Here was a Dolphins franchise so starving for relevance that it tried, multiple times, to swindle Tom Brady away from the Patriots and the Buccaneers. Ross was in the ear of Sean Payton as he backed away from the Saints and entered the broadcasting world. Because of Ross’s tampering efforts, the Dolphins were stripped of their 2023 first-round and 2024 third-round picks, he was fined $1.5 million and suspended through Oct. 17, and limited partner Bruce Beal was fined $500,000. In addition, Ross was banned from all league meetings this year. Ross wanted Brady so badly that he reportedly was willing to give him a stake of ownership. Lest we also forget, this was the club in heated negotiations with Deshaun Watson at the trade deadline last year.
