The Cleveland Browns have refuted accusations of providing bonuses to motivate their team to deliberately lose games, with a team representative dismissing the claims as entirely untrue.
Cleveland becomes the second NFL franchise to be embroiled in such allegations, following similar claims made against the Miami Dolphins. The allegations were voiced by Former Browns head coach Hue Jackson and another individual. They alleged that inducements to lose games were allegedly extended during the 2016 and 2017 seasons, purportedly aiding the Browns in securing the top overall draft pick in 2017 and 2018. Throughout this period, the Browns managed just one victory out of the 32 games played.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has been specifically accused of offering substantial sums of money to Jackson, as well as to chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, and the team’s current general manager, Andrew Berry, along with others.
A formal statement issued by the Browns organization on Wednesday stated, “The recent statements made by Hue Jackson and his representatives about his time as our head coach are entirely false.”
The allegations of providing bonuses to lose games initially surfaced in a legal case filed by former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, concerning the treatment of black head coaches in the NFL. Flores alleged that he was offered bonuses of $100,000 for the team to purposefully lose games. The Dolphins have disavowed any misconduct.
