The Miami Dolphins will not have a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft as punishment for tampering with Sean Payton and Tom Brady in numerous instances. The Dolphins, who reached the postseason in 2022, will have to make do with other picks in the 2022 draft as they seek to bolster their roster heading into the upcoming season.
The league found that the Miami Dolphins had 'impermissible communications' with Brady twice. First, the Dolphins contacted Brady in August 2019 while he was still the starting QB of the New England Patriots. These conversations were headed by Bruce Beal, Miami's vice chairman, who kept team owner Stephen Ross and other Miami decision-makers updated on the discussions.
As for Payton, it all started in January 2022 when the Miami Dolphins contacted Payton's agent, Don Yee, and showed an interest in hiring the former as their head coach. However, Sean Payton was still under contract with the New Orleans Saints and had not yet announced his retirement plan.
Due to the above infractions, the Miami Dolphins have been docked their first-round pick in 2023. Ross was suspended through 2022 and fined $1.5 million. Meanwhile, Beal was fined $500,000 and suspended from attending any NFL meetings during the 2022 season.
Interestingly, this has happened twice, and both featured Tom Brady in some form. The first time was in 2007 when former Bill Belichick protege Eric Mangini accused his former mentor, Belichick, of filming the Jets' on-field defensive signals.
The NFL got involved and proceeded to dock the Patriots as a first-round pick for the 2008 NFL draft. That pick could have been the 31st overall pick. Furthermore, Bill Belichick was fined $500,000, while the Patriots were fined $250,000 for their involvement.
Seemingly, lightning struck twice in the same place, as the Patriots were docked their first-round pick in the 2016 NFL draft and fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft due to the Deflategate scandal.
That all arose from an allegation made by the Indianapolis Colts that Brady allowed game balls to be deflated to gain an unfair advantage. There were other punishments in Deflategate, such as a four-game ban for Brady and a $1 million fine for the Patriots.
