Witness heard Dolphins owner offer Flores money to 'tank'?

Allen Eyestone / USA TODAY NETWORK

Report: Witness heard Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offer Brian Flores money to 'tank'

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 2/2/22

One of the particularly damning allegations in the class action lawsuit filed by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores on Tuesday is that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered Flores $100,000 per loss for the 2019 NFL season so the club could "tank" for the best possible selection in the 2020 draft.

That part of the story took an interesting turn on Wednesday when NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe reported a supposed witness claims he heard Ross offer Flores that exact sum for each defeat a couple of seasons ago. Wolfe adds Flores' team has evidence to back this accusation, including messages from general manager Chris Grier:

As I mention at end, I spoke with a witness who said he heard Steve Ross offer Brian Flores 100K for every 2019 loss.

Flores’ team says they have corroborating evidence including messages from GM Chris Grier. IF proven, integrity of game in Q. Dolphins denied the allegations. https://t.co/KnIPjHMhjb
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) February 2, 2022

Flores says in the lawsuit his relationship with Ross suffered in 2019 because the owner was upset the Dolphins won five games and, thus, missed out on the opportunity to draft quarterback Joe Burrow. Burrow recently guided the Cincinnati Bengals to a Super Bowl berth in only his second NFL season.

The Dolphins strongly denied any wrongdoing in a statement released Tuesday.

Former Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson added his name to the mix Wednesday when he said he and others within the organization received money from team owner Jimmy Haslam to "tank" as the Browns notched a combined 1-31 record from the start of the 2016 season through the end of the 2017 campaign under Jackson.

The Browns responded: "Any accusation that any member of our organization was incentivized to deliberately lose games is categorically false."

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