Why did the Dolphins lose a draft pick? Miami's owner suspended for game violations

The 2022 NFL journey ended for the Miami Dolphins as they lost in their Wild Card round game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The Dolphins fell four points short of winning the game as they suffered a 34-31 loss. As the Bills make it to the divisional round, Miami will hope to make a comeback next season.

The league announced its findings in August 2022 regarding its six-month investigation into tampering and tanking allegations against the Dolphins. The league took strict action and imposed fines and suspensions on the franchise for the upcoming season.

The Fins will lose a first-round draft pick in the 2023 NFL draft and a third-round pick in the 2024 season. The league also suspended team owner Stephen Ross through October 17 and fined him $1.5 million.

Ross isn't allowed to be at the team's facilities during this time, and he's also not allowed to represent the team at any NFL or team events. Until the Annual Meeting in 2023, he is also removed from all league committees and is prohibited from attending any league meetings.

Bruce Beal, the Dolphins' vice-chairman and limited partner, was fined $50,000. He is banned from attending any league meetings for the duration of the 2022 season.

The NFL reached this judgment after learning that Miami had broken its anti-tampering policy multiple times during the 2019-2022 period.

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The Miami Dolphins violated the anti-tampering policy on three separate occasions

Pittsburgh v Miami NFL game

According to the NFL, the Dolphins made their first violation during the 2019-20 season. They were in contact with former New England Patriots QB Tom Brady while he was still under contract with the Patriots.

In the 2021 season, they once again contacted Tom Brady and his agent, hoping to bring the seven-time Super Bowl champion to their side. But they again broke the policy as Brady was under contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Fins' discussions with Brady were mostly centered on him joining the team as a limited partner and possibly acting as an executive in the football department. According to the NFL, Ross and other team officials took part in these conversations.

The Fins and Sean Payton's agent, Don Yee, had discussions in January 2022. Miami wanted to hire Payton as their new head coach for the 2022-23 NFL season. However, the team lacked New Orleans' permission to hold these talks.

After the 2021 season, Mike McDaniel became the 14th head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He replaced Brian Flores, who served as the head coach for the franchise for three years (2019-2021).

Flores accused the outfit of racial discrimination during the recruiting process and filed a lawsuit against them. He further said that Miami owner Stephen Ross paid him $100,000 for every game he lost in order to help Miami's status in the upcoming 2020 draft.