The NFL brought the hammer down on the Miami Dolphins and Stephen Ross on Tuesday.
The Dolphins will be forced to forfeit their first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft as well as their third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Beyond that, Ross will be suspended through Oct. 17, 2022, and he will not be allowed at the team’s facility until his suspension runs out.
The NFL is docking the #Dolphins two draft picks and suspending owner Stephen Ross as a result of the league’s tampering allegation. pic.twitter.com/A9gaz9pzAf
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 2, 2022
It sounds like “impermissible communications” got the Dolphins in trouble.
NFL finding: “The Dolphins had impermissible communications with quarterback Tom Brady in 2019-20.”
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) August 2, 2022
NFL finding: “In January 2022, the Dolphins had impermissible communications with Don Yee, the agent for New Orleans Saints' head coach Sean Payton.”
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) August 2, 2022
NFL finding: “The Dolphins did not intentionally lose games during the 2019 season.”
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) August 2, 2022
Clearly, this is a very serious matter in the eyes of the NFL, and the Dolphins are paying a huge price because of it. Obviously, losing a first-round pick is a massive blow. It will be interesting to see how the Dolphins try to overcome that massive loss.
As for Ross, he’d be wise to try to avoid this kind of tampering in the future unless he wants to deal with an even sterner punishment.
