Miami Dolphins Slammed With Stern Penalties For Tampering With Tom Brady As He Played For Other Teams
Miami Dolphins.
Aug. 2 2022, Published 1:19 p.m. ET
The Miami Dolphins have lost future first- and third-round draft picks for tampering with quarterback Tom Brady and coach Sean Payton, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The NFL released the findings of its investigation into the club, which included the fact the Dolphins did not tank in 2019.
An NFL news release states that the Dolphins "had impermissible communications with quarterback Tom Brady in 2019-20, while he was under contract with the New England Patriots." The league found that vice chairman/limited partner Bruce Beal was communicating with Brady as early as August 2019 and relaying the discussions to team owner Stephen Ross.
At the time, Brady was under contract with the New England Patriots.
The investigation also found that the Dolphins had "impermissible" communication with Don Yee, agent for Payton, formerly head coach of the New Orleans Saints. According to the NFL, the Dolphins never got permission from the Saints to talk to Payton.
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Ross, who has been suspended through Oct. 17, 2022, for the tampering findings, had expressed his belief that the Dolphins should take their draft position as a priority over winning games in 2019. However, the investigation found that no one purposely tanked games that year. The league found that rumors that Ross offered coach Brian Flores $100,000 to lose games was not serious.
"The Dolphins did not intentially lose games during the 2019 season. Nor did anyone at the club, including Mr. Ross, instruct Coach [Brian] Flores to do so. The Dolphins competed hard to win every game, including at the end of the season when they beat Cincinnati and New England, despite worsening Miami's position in the 2020 draft," the news release states.
Still, Commissioner Roger Goodell emphasized the importance of being competitive in a prepared statement.
"Every club is expected to make a good faith effort to win every game," Goodell said in a prepared statement. "The integrity of the game, and public confidence in professional football, demand no less."
Beal, has been banned from attending any league meetings for the rest of 2022 and has been fined $500,000.