Hue Jackson Claims He Was Also Paid Bonus to Tank For Browns

The Brian Flores lawsuit could end up being a monumental moment in NFL history. Flores filed the class action suit yesterday on the basis of racial discrimination in hiring and alleged, among many other accusations, that Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him bonus money to intentionally lose games in order to end up with a high draft pick.

It remains to be seen if there is any proof of Flores' accusations, but his decision to come forth publicly may end up inspiring others to come out with their own stories. Others like Hue Jackson, for example.

Jackson presided over the closest thing the NFL has ever had to The Process when he went 3-36-1 over two and a half seasons with the Cleveland Browns. The Browns did not go so far as what Sam Hinkie did with the Philadelphia Sixers, but their braintrust was not trying very hard to put a good product on the field, evidenced by moves such as accepting Brock Osweiler's onerous contract from the Houston Texans in exchange for a second-round pick. The NFL would never abide an open directive to lose as many games as possible, but cannot do anything if a team's front office decides to trade away all their best talent in an effort to rebuild through the draft.

Jackson started to tweet yesterday after the Flores news broke and alleged he and others in the Browns' leadership group were paid bonuses to lose games by owner Jimmy Haslam.

Jackson later responded to a tweet by Kimberley Diemert, identified by Pro Football Talk as the executive director of Jackson's foundation, saying he had evidence that supported his claims.

This is growing to be a very big problem for the league. Aside from all the posturing about competitive integrity and things of that nature, the NFL and the sports gambling business are now attached at the hip. Owners potentially fixing games by offering their employees bonuses to lose is something that could substantially affect the NFL's pockets, and they care about nothing more than the bottom line.

In going public with his accusations, Flores could be unearthing a scandal that the NFL cannot bury.