Bruce Beal Jr. - Pro Football Rumors

Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross Suspended; Team Docked Draft Picks For Tampering

August 2nd, 2022 at 10:55am CST by Adam La Rose

The tampering allegations faced by the Dolphins have led to serious consequences for the organization. Owner Stephen Ross has been suspended for the beginning of the 2022 season, and the team has been docked two draft picks (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero). ESPN’s Jeff Darlington notes that the decision is final, and there is no appeals process (Twitter link).

Ross will be suspended through October 17 of this year. He is also banned from all league committees and is not allowed to attend league meetings until March 2023. In addition, he has been fined $1.5MM. The draft picks the team is forfeiting are a first-round selection in 2023, as well as a third-rounder in 2024. Dolphins vice chairman Bruce Beal, who is also a TB12 board member (per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times), has also been suspended and fined $500K.

The full findings of the league’s investigations into the team’s attempts to acquire quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Sean Payton include “tampering violations of unprecedented scope and severity,” per commissioner Roger Goodell. The league has found that the Dolphins engaged in “impermissible communications” with Brady dating back to 2019-20, when he was with the Patriots (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter).

Miami likewise held illegal talks with Brady while he was a member of the Buccaneers, pertaining to a potential ownership stake, Schefter adds. As for Payton, the league has found that the Dolphins’ initial talks with him took place before before his decision to step away from the Saints in January, and that permission was still not granted by the Saints after that decision (Twitter links).

“With regards to tampering, I strongly disagree with the conclusions and the punishment,” Ross said in a statement. “However, I will accept the outcome because the most important thing is that there be no distractions for our team as we begin an exciting and winning season. I will not allow anything to get in the way of that.”

Reports surfaced early in the offseason of repeated attempts by Ross to bring Brady (who has a well-known personal relationship with Ross and Beal) to Miami as the team’s quarterback and/or minority owner. The move was expected to represent a package deal with Payton, but fell through in the wake of Brian Flores’ racial discrimination lawsuit against, among others, the team. Much of the story was first detailed by PFT’s Mike Florio, but was later corroborated by a number of outlets; today’s new confirms what many had already suspected based on that reporting.

The punishment handed down to Ross, Beal and the organization is meant to “deter future violations and safeguard the integrity of the game,” per the league’s ruling. While it remains to be seen if it will have the intended effect in future cases of the sort, the Dolphins certainly face a steep price for their actions.

Latest On Tom Brady, Dolphins

January 31st, 2020 at 6:06pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Tom Brady sparked a frenzy earlier this week when he posted a cryptic photo of himself to Twitter. Although Adam Schefter of ESPN soon clarified in a tweet that it wasn’t a statement on his impending free agency, that didn’t stop the rumor mill from churning.

The potential new team for Brady “that continues to get the most buzz” is the Dolphins, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. While Brady going to a team that was in a full-blown rebuild this past season wasn’t something anybody has expected, there are at least some connections. Dolphins head coach Brian Flores spent 15 seasons with Brady in New England, and there are other ex-Patriots on staff.

Florio also highlights the presence of Dolphins owner Stephen Ross’ business partner Bruce Beal. Florio writes that there has been talk of “Beal buying the team and selling a sliver of it to Brady.” One league source told Florio “that a sale to Beal is possible not long after” Miami finishes hosting the Super Bowl. All that being said, Ross himself quickly threw some cold water on all the speculation.

Responding to the report he might sell the team, Ross said “I have no interest in selling the team. Zero. Got it? People can write what they want to write. I’m going to own it until I die,” per David Wilson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). Beal still appears to be Ross’ successor as owner, but it doesn’t sound like he’s selling anytime soon. Ross, 79, also didn’t sound overly enthused about the possibility of adding Brady.

Ross said “we’re building” and that “people are writing about it. People need something to write about,” when asked about the Brady rumors, via Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). It would’ve been very entertaining to see Brady stay in the AFC East and play the Pats twice a year, but it doesn’t seem too likely as of right now.

Dolphins Have Ownership Succession Plan

April 7th, 2016 at 6:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross doesn’t plan on selling his franchise anytime soon, but he’ll turn 76 in May, and is looking ahead and making preparations for the future. According to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, NFL owners recently approved a succession plan for the Dolphins, which will give New York businessman Bruce Beal Jr. the right to purchase the team in the event that Ross decides to sell — or passes away.

As La Canfora writes, the league typically doesn’t announce this sort of arrangement publicly, but they’re not uncommon. Sources tell La Canfora that Ross wanted to be proactive in coming up with a succession plan, and Beal is someone to whom he feels very close.

Beal was elevated to president of Ross’ Related Companies real estate firm when the Dolphins owner – and Related Companies founder – stepped aside as CEO in 2012. The two men have worked together for years, and one source describes the Dolphins’ new succession plan as something akin to “keeping the team in the family,” per La Canfora.

While the arrangement doesn’t ensure that Beal will gain control of the franchise when it becomes available, he’ll be in the driver’s seat to purchase it.

Ross has been willing to OK major personnel moves in recent years, signing Ndamukong Suh to a mega-deal in free agency in 2015, and approving a major trade involving Byron Maxwell, Kiko Alonso, and a pair of first-round picks last month. The Dolphins, under Ross, also made another coaching change earlier this year, hiring Adam Gase to replace interim head coach Dan Campbell.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.