NFL investigating Browns in wake of Hue Jackson tanking allegations
Following Hue Jackson’s allegations that Cleveland Browns team owner Jimmy Haslam provided incentives for the team to lose games throughout his tenure as head coach, the NFL is opening an investigation.
MORE: Hue Jackson implies Browns owner Jimmy Haslam paid him to lose: ‘Trust me it was a good number’
Sports Illustrated was first to report the latest developments.
Jackson, the former Browns head coach, suggested Haslam paid him to lose games during the 2016 and 2017 seasons in a tweet back in February.
Trust me it was a good number!
— Hue Jackson (@huejack10) February 2, 2022
He later walked back the allegation that Haslam paid him to lose in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper a few days later, though.
“No, I was never offered money like Brian (Flores) had mentioned,” Jackson said. “I think this is a totally different situation but has some similarities.”
Via SI, a Browns spokesperson gave this statement on the investigation:
Even though Hue recanted his allegations a short time after they were made, it was important to us and to the integrity of the game to have an independent review of the allegations. We welcomed an investigation and we are confident the results will show, as we’ve previously stated, that these allegations are categorically false. We have fully cooperated with Mary Jo White and look forward to the findings.
Under Jackson’s helm, the Browns were dismal. Cleveland went 1-15 in 2016 and 0-16 in 2017. The Browns received back-to-back number one picks in 2017 and 2018 as a result of their struggles, taking Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett (2017) and Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield (2018).
Jackson’s claim came on the heels of a class action lawsuit, led by Flores, which alleged that the NFL and three teams racially discriminated against Flores. In Flores’ lawsuit, he alleged that Miami Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross offered him a $100,000 bonus for each loss the Dolphins sustained in the 2019 season. Ross vehemently denied Flores’ allegations.
The NFL’s investigation into the Browns is being led by former SEC chair Mary Jo White. White, a part of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, was also hired by the league to lead the investigation into Flores’ claims.
“Two years ago I tried to do this the right way, through the bylaws and constitution of the National Football League, to ask them to investigate the Cleveland Browns for all the allegations that I’ve made,” Jackson told Sports Illustrated. “So why open an investigation now?”