The NFL reportedly will investigate claims by former Miami head coach Brian Flores that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross attempted to financially incentivize him to lose games during the 2019 season.
In a class-action discrimination lawsuit against the NFL filed earlier this week, Flores alleges Ross offered to pay him $100,000 for every 2019 loss in an effort to secure the highest possible draft pick. Flores said he refused.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen was the first to report the NFL’s investigation. Mortensen said the league also will look into “other potential rules violations.”
Flores’ team claims to have evidence corroborating this allegation, including messages from Dolphins general manager Chris Grier, according to a report Thursday from NFL Media’s Cameron Wolfe. Wolfe also said he spoke with a witness who heard Ross’ $100K-per-loss offer.
The Dolphins hired Flores, a longtime New England Patriots assistant, in 2019. With a talent-deficient roster, Miami lost its first seven games but won five of its final nine, including a stunning Week 17 upset of the Patriots that cost New England a first-round playoff bye.
In his lawsuit, Flores claims his refusal to intentionally lose games and refusal to illegally recruit a “prominent quarterback” — reportedly Tom Brady — after the 2019 season led to him being “ostracized and ultimately … fired” two years later, then “subsequently defamed throughout the media and the league as he was labeled by the Dolphins brass as someone who was difficult to work with.”
Flores’ Dolphins failed to make the playoffs in 2020 and 2021 but finished above .500 both seasons. Excluding Jon Gruden, who resigned from the Las Vegas Raiders midseason, Flores was the only head coach fired this season after posting a winning record.
