Tanking Allegations Against Dolphins, Browns Could Change the NFL Draft

For years, the NFL has used the reverse order draft to ensure parity in their league. Making it so that fanbases who watched their team finish at the bottom in one season would have a reasonable hope of seeing their teams bounce back the following year by having the ability to pick the best college players available.

But all of that could change very soon.

Contained in former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores’ lawsuit charging the NFL with racist hiring practices, is another charge that, in 2019, he was offered $100,000 per game lost by Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross as part of Ross’ pursuit of the #1 overall pick in the 2020 draft.

(Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Less than 24 hours after making that charge, Flores was joined by another former head coach, Hue Jackson, who has made similar claims. Not only that, Jackson’s camp claims to have the proof to back those charges up.

As Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports, “…the executive director of Jackson’s foundation claims that she has documentation to show that Jackson, former Browns executive Sashi Brown, current Browns executive Paul DiPodesta, and current G.M. Andrew Berry received bonuses in 2016 and 2017, seasons that culminated in the Browns “earning” the first overall pick in the next draft.”

OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 30: Head coach Hue Jackson of the Cleveland Browns stands on the field before their game against the Oakland Raiders at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 30, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

If both or either one of these charges ends up proven true, the NFL will find itself in the center of a scandal that will make Colin Kaepernick appear quaint by comparison. The league will face a question of its own credibility and integrity at the precise moment when it has opened itself up to the world of gambling in a way that it hasn’t before.

While Flores’ lawsuit has gained headlines for its allegations about racial hiring practices in the NFL, the more far-reaching and impactful outcome of the suit could be the competitive integrity of the league itself, if proven true.

Tanking to gain draft position has long been the concern of those opposed to the reverse order draft. However, having actual proof and evidence of tanking would transform those concerns into a full-on crisis.

Questions such as, how long has this tanking been going on? Who else has been involved in tanking? Do we need to investigate every team that has had the #1 overall pick in the last decade or so? How do we prevent this from happening in the future?

And then, of course, how can we continue with a draft system that rewards failure if we have credible evidence that teams have abused the system?

CLEVELAND, OHIO – APRIL 29: Gregory Rousseau stands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell onstage after being selected 30th by the Buffalo Bills during round one of the 2021 NFL Draft at the Great Lakes Science Center on April 29, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The answer could well be that the system will change. For example, a draft that prioritizes winning, such as awarding the first pick to the lowest-ranked playoff team from the previous year and working backward, would remove the incentive to lose.

Though, as with all investigations of the NFL and their ownership groups, it depends on the league’s willingness to investigate itself. Unfortunately, as Florio points out in the case of the Washington Commanders workplace harassment investigation, the NFL has not always shown itself to be a willing or transparent investigator of itself.

However, as is the case with everything, money changes the equation. For years, the league has coveted the hundreds of millions of dollars that could come its way from gambling. Well, how exactly are gamblers going to feel safe betting on NFL games if there are credible allegations or proof of tanking and the league takes no action?

The answer is, they won’t.

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