Dolphins Forfeit Draft Picks, Owner Stephen Ross Suspended

A day after the suspension announcement for Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, the NFL has levied harsh discipline on the Miami Dolphins and owner Stephen Ross.

According to reports, the league has stripped the Dolphins of a 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 third-round pick, and has suspended owner Stephen Ross through October 17th, 2022 for violating the league’s rule on tampering based on the team’s communication with Patriots-then-Buccaneers quarterback, Tom Brady, and former Saints head coach, Sean Payton.

“The investigators found tampering violations of unprecedented scope and severity,” Commissioner Goodell said. “I know of no prior instance of a team violating the prohibition on tampering with both a head coach and star player, to the potential detriment of multiple other clubs, over a period of several years. Similarly, I know of no prior instance in which ownership was so directly involved in the violations.”

The punishment is not for allegations made by former Dolphins head coach, Brian Flores, which accused Ross of racist hiring practices, purposely tanking, and offering money to lose games.

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In the judgment handed down by the league, Roger Goodell stated there was no credibility to the claim that Mr. Ross attempted to pay Coach Flores to intentionally tank games.

“Every club is expected to make a good faith effort to win every game,” Commissioner Goodell stated. “The integrity of the game, and public confidence in professional football, demand no less. An owner or senior executive must understand the weight that his or her words carry, and the risk that a comment will be taken seriously and acted upon, even if that is not the intent or expectation. Even if made in jest and not intended to be taken seriously, comments suggesting that draft position is more important than winning can be misunderstood and carry with them an unnecessary potential risk to the integrity of the game. The comments made by Mr. Ross did not affect Coach Flores’ commitment to win and the Dolphins competed to win every game. Coach Flores is to be commended for not allowing any comment about the relative importance of draft position to affect his commitment to win throughout the season.”

In addition to the suspension, Ross has been fined $1.5 million and Vice Chairman Bruce Beal has been handed a $500,000 fine as well as suspended from league meetings for the entire season.