Paid to Lose?!: Former Cleveland Browns HC Blows Lid Off Owner Jimmy Haslam Tanking 2016 and 2017 Seasons

Hue Jackson, on Tuesday, accused the Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam of paying bonuses for tanking the 2016 and 2017 NFL seasons. This accusation comes after former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores filed a similar lawsuit against the Dolphins owner. According to Flores, owner Stephen Ross paid him an additional $100,000 per loss during the 2019 NFL season in order to get the first overall pick in the NFL draft.

Brian Flores sued the NFL and several of its teams, including the New York Giants, Denver Broncos, and Miami Dolphins. Flores alleges that the Giants and Broncos discriminated against him during the interview process and that the Dolphins fired him unfairly. With the beginning of Black History Month in the U.S., he filed the lawsuit on Tuesday.

Hue Jackson accuses Cleveland Browns owner of tanking

The former coach of the Cleveland Browns, Hue Jackson has made allegations against the Cleveland Browns’ owner, Jimmy Haslam. Jackson claims Haslam offered him similar incentives and bonuses for losing matches in the 2016 and 2017 NFL seasons. In addition, he stated he would get paid based on certain measurables, such as the aggregate rankings, being the youngest team, and having several draft picks.

Jackson expressed his support for Flores on Twitter. In response to a tweet that claimed Brown’s owner was offering $100K/loss to Jackson, he replied it wasn’t $100k, but a very larger amount. He explained that owner Haslam was happy when the team lost matches.

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The Browns finished with a 1-15 record in the 2016 season and a 0-16 record in the 2017 season, earning the first pick in both the 2017 and 2018 NFL drafts. However, in 2018, Hue Jackson was fired from the Browns after a 2-5-1 start to the season.

ESPN’s Sports Center interviews Hue Jackson

On Wednesday, Jackson explained the entire situation, in an interview with ESPN’s Sports Center. Hue Jackson said to ESPN, “I remember very candidly saying to Jimmy, ‘I’m not interested in bonus money,’ because I’ve never known that to be a bonus.” Jackson further stated that he didn’t care about the money he got and wanted the money to be used to bring in more talented players and improve his team.

He appeared in the interview after he and Kimberly Diemert, the executive director of Hue Jackson Foundation, implied on social media that Jackson was paid to lose games during the 2016 and 2017 NFL seasons. After Brain Flores filed a lawsuit against the Dolphins, coach Jackson and his head of foundation came out to support him.

The NFL has been struck hard by these allegations in the last few days. All these accusations and allegations are detrimental to the game and need to be addressed as soon as possible.

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