The Brian Flores lawsuit against the NFL is mildly interesting, but it is also being well covered in other places, and I don’t know what I can say about the suit itself.
However, there is one aspect of it that I think isn’t getting as much coverage as I’d like:
Flores claimed that [Stephen] Ross [owner of the Dolphins – DB] said he would pay him $100,000 for each game the team lost in 2019, his first year with the Dolphins. Flores refused and when the Dolphins started winning games, Flores said he was told by the team’s general manager, Chris Grier, that Ross was “mad” that the team’s victories were hurting the team’s position in the draft position.
…
Flores’ lawyers said his experience was not unique and that other coaches have reached out to them with similar stories in regard to being incentivized to tank as well as enduring discriminatory hiring practices.
I have to wonder: if paying coaches to lose is a common practice, why haven’t we seen more 0-16 (or 0-17) teams? Is there so much “respect for the game” out there that nobody’s willing to take the offer? Even if you’re going to end up with a #1 draft choice?
Edited to add: Well, this is interesting:
In the wake of Brian Flores’ bombshell discrimination lawsuit against the NFL, former Browns coach Hue Jackson suggested Tuesday that he too was paid to lose games for his former organization.