NFL strips Miami Dolphins of 2023 first-round pick, fines Stephen Ross $1.5M for tampering with Tom Brady, Sean Payton

The NFL has stripped the Miami Dolphins of two draft picks, including their 2023 first-round selection, and suspended owner Stephen Ross and fined him $1.5 million after an investigation into alleged violations of league policies related to the integrity of the game.

In addition to the first-round pick, the Dolphins also will forfeit their 2024 third-round selection.

Ross, meanwhile, is suspended through Oct. 17, during which time he isn't permitted to be at the Dolphins' facility or represent the team at any team event. He also can't attend any league meeting before the annual meeting in 2023.

Dolphins vice chairman/limited partner Bruce Beal was fined $500,000 and isn't permitted to attend any league meeting for the rest of the 2022 season.

In his lawsuit against the NFL and several teams alleging racial discrimination in the hiring practices for head coaches, former Dolphins coach Brian Flores alleged that Ross offered him $100,000 to lose games in 2019, his first season with the club, and tampered with individuals under contract (Tom Brady and Sean Payton).

The NFL said it found that the Dolphins had «impermissible communications» with Brady in 2019-20 when he was under contract with the New England Patriots and again in 2021, when he was under contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The NFL said the conversations with Brady in 2019-20 were conducted by Beal, while the the 2021 conversations were focused on making Brady a limited partner in the Dolphins and possibly making him an executive, but also included the possibility of him playing for the team. Those conversations involved both Ross and Beal.

The league said the Dolphins also had «impermissible communications» with Don Yee, the agent for Payton, then the New