Dolphins owner Stephen Ross released a statement Tuesday after the NFL released its investigation into allegations of both tampering and tanking.
The league released its findings from the independent investigation that found the Dolphins tampered with three teams, the Patriots, Buccaneers and Saints. Ross was not found guilty of violating NFL tanking rules.
As a result of the findings, Miami will lose a 2023 first-round pick and 2024 third-round pick. Ross will be suspended through Oct. 17, fined $1.5 million as well as removed from all NFL committees indefinitely.
Ross released a statement Tuesday after the penalties were issued.
“As I have said all along, these allegations were false, malicious and defamatory,” Ross said in the statement. “With regards to tampering, I strongly disagree with the conclusions and the punishment. However, I will accept the outcome because the most important thing is that there be no distractions for our team as we begin an exciting and winning season. I will not allow anything to get in the way of that.”
As early as August 2019, Miami contacted Tom Brady while he was still a member of the Patriots. Those conversations with Brady, which carried over into the regular seasons and playoffs, were spearheaded by Dolphins minority owner, Bruce Beal, who kept “Ross and other Dolphins executives informed” on Brady’s thoughts.
Then, as the Buccaneers quarterback in December ’21, Miami spoke with Brady about becoming a team executive and limited partner with the franchise. In January ‘22, the franchise spoke with Sean Payton’s agent without proper consent from the Saints.
The NFL’s investigation also concluded that Miami did not intentionally lose games during the ’19 season, nor did anyone from the franchise, including Ross, instruct coach Brian Flores to lose games. Per the investigation, the Dolphins “competed to win every game, including the end of the season.”
When Flores filed the lawsuit in February, he also stated that Ross offered him a $100,000 bonus for each loss during the ’19 season to improve its ‘20 draft position. Flores did not comply with the request. In the league’s investigation, it found that there were “differing recollections about the wording, timing and context” from the comment concerning the offer. As a result, per the NFL, the comment was not “intended or taken to be a serious offer, nor was subject pursued in any respect” by Ross or anyone within the franchise.
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