Miami Dolphins owner, Stephen Ross, not guilty of tanking allegations

The Miami Dolphins, as we learned earlier, were found to have tampered with Tom Brady but allegations by Brian Flores still lingered.

According to multiple sources including Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, in a team-released statement, the owner was not found to have offered Brian Flores money to tank games. This is big news considering the league levied strong penalties against the team for tampering.

Ross has maintained that at no time did he offer Flores money to tank games, something that Flores has claimed even after today’s NFL ruling. Here is the statement released by Stephen Ross through the team.

Flores also released a statement about today’s decision.

There were rumors circulating that Ross could be forced to sell the franchise but that was never going to happen without clear evidence that he violated league rules as an owner. While the team was docked a 2023 first-round draft pick and a 2024 3rd, most of that tends to lean towards minority owner Bruce Beal who reportedly was pulling the strings behind the Tom Brady scene including the yacht meet that never took place.

For now, Ross is keeping his organization focused on the season ahead but there are questions as to whether or not this is completely over. As far as the NFL is concerned, it is, but Flores still has legal action pending against the NFL and several teams.

At least at this point, this can be filed away but the loss of draft compensation will hurt Miami fortunately the Dolphins still own a first-round selection next year thanks to the 49er’s trade.