Editor’s note: This is an opinion piece based on information uncovered in Sports Illustrated’s investigation into Hue Jackson’s claims that he was incentivized to lose games while he was head coach of the Browns.
In the footnote section of a letter NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote to Browns owner Jimmy Haslam upon the conclusion of the league’s investigation into Hue Jackson’s tanking allegations this week, Goodell wrote (emphasis mine): “There is no merit to the suggestion that offering incentives to win a certain number of games violates Article 9.1(C)(8) of the NFL Constitution and Bylaws, which prohibits bonuses to coaches for winning particular games against particular opponents.”
One point of contention in Jackson’s claims that has not yet been reported is that the Browns, after scrapping an incentive structure that rewarded the head coach for draft capital and salary-cap space carryover, installed a new bonus system—negotiated between Haslam and Jackson’s agent via email (it’s unclear whether it was ever submitted to the NFL for approval)—that rewarded Jackson for wins (“3 wins - $100K” up to “7 wins - $500K.”).
