Tom Brady and the Miami Dolphins were about to shock the world when Brian Flores went ahead and did just that.
The Dolphins’ offseason master plan reportedly contained two pillars Feb. 1 in the immediate aftermath of Brady’s retirement announcement: luring the legendary quarterback to Miami as player-minority owner and pairing him with incoming head coach Sean Payton. Only the explosive lawsuit Brian Flores filed against the Dolphins, three other teams and the NFL stopped the blockbuster series of events from taking place, ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio reported Thursday, citing multiple sources.
“Then came the Brian Flores lawsuit,” Florio wrote. “Filed (coincidentally or not) the same day Brady retired, the litigation resulted in the plug being pulled on the Payton/Brady plan.”
The Dolphins would have had to acquire Brady’s rights from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well as contractual right to hire Payton, who stepped down as New Orleans Saints head coach in January but also has left the door open for a future NFL role.
Brady ultimately reversed his retirement decision in March and is set to play for the Buccaneers in the 2022 NFL season. He reportedly still might join the Dolphins in 2023. However, if he does so, it wouldn’t be as shocking as if they had pulled it off this year.
