Brian Flores claimed in a lawsuit on Tuesday that Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered to pay him bonus money if the team intentionally lost games in 2019. That led to Hue Jackson coming forward about a similar experience he supposedly had with the Cleveland Browns, but the Browns say their former coach is lying.
Flores says Ross offered to pay him $100,000 per loss in 2019, with the goal being to tank for a high draft pick. Jackson, who went 3-36-1 over two-plus seasons in Cleveland, hinted on Twitter that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam made him a similar offer. The Browns issued a statement on Wednesday calling the allegations from Jackson “completely fabricated.”
Statement from Browns Spokesperson:
The recent comments by Hue Jackson and his representatives relating to his tenure as our head coach are completely fabricated. Any accusation that any member of our organization was incentivized to deliberately lose games is categorically false— Dan Labbe (@dan_labbe) February 2, 2022
That is as strong of a statement as the Browns could make. They must be confident that Jackson has no proof to support his claim, though he reportedly says he does.
According to Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, Jackson has made arrangements to speak with Flores’ attorneys about potentially joining the lawsuit. Jackson says he can prove that Haslam tried to incentivize him to lose games in 2016 and 2017.
Flores made many more allegations in his bombshell lawsuit, but the tanking claims could wind up being the biggest headache for the NFL. Flores on Wednesday shared some more details of an alleged conversation he had with Ross about tanking.
Photo: Dec 3, 2017; Carson, CA, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson looks on from the sideline during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at StubHub Center. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
