Tom Brady was quarterback Brian Flores alleges Dolphins tampered with

The quarterback that Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross allegedly pressured Brian Flores to recruit was reportedly Tom Brady.

On Tuesday, Brian Flores filed a class lawsuit against the NFL, New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos alleging discrimination in the hiring process. Flores made some eye-opening allegations regarding the Dolphins, his former employer, one being owner Stephen Ross pressuring the head coach to recruit a prominent quarterback after the 2019 season ended.

Then Flores alleged that Ross set up an “impromptu meeting” with the quarterback on a yacht in the winter of 2020.

According to Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post, the quarterback that Ross wanted Flores to meet with was former New England Patriots quarterback and impending free agent at the time, Tom Brady. Schad continued, saying that while Flores did respect Brady, he did not want to tamper and did not think it was the right time to recruit Brady due to the Dolphins rebuild.

Tom Brady reportedly the quarterback Dolphins wanted Brian Flores to meet with

Brady was set to be a free agent at the time, as he was in the final year of his contract with the Patriots. Of course, Brady would go on to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the start of the 2020 league year.

Below is a transcript from Flores’ lawsuit regarding the alleged set-up meeting with the quarterback. That comes courtesy of Wigdor Law LLP (page 6):

"After the end of the 2019 season, Mr. Ross began to pressure Mr. Flores to recruit a prominent quarterback in violation of League tampering rules. Mr. Flores repeatedly refused to comply with these improper directives. Undeterred, in the winter of 2020, Mr. Ross invited Mr. Flores onto a yacht for lunch. Shortly after he arrived, Mr. Ross told Mr. Flores that the prominent quarterback was “conveniently” arriving at the marina. Obviously, Mr. Ross had attempted to “set up” a purportedly impromptu meeting between Mr. Flores and the prominent quarterback. Mr. Flores refused the meeting and left the yacht immediately. After the incident, Mr. Flores was treated with disdain and held out as someone who was noncompliant and difficult to work with."

This is not the only allegation that Flores made regarding Ross. The lawsuit states that Ross offered to pay Flores $100,000 for every game they lost throughout the 2019 season in order to get the first-overall pick in the NFL Draft. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that general manager Chris Grier told Flores that Ross was “mad” about the head coach winning games that was “compromising [the team’s] draft position. That was Flores’ first season as Dolphins head coach.

The Dolphins released a statement after the lawsuit was revealed. You can read the statement below:

Flores was fired at the end of the 2021 regular season despite finishing with a 9-8 record after starting the year 1-7. Overall, Flores holds a 24-25 overall record during his three seasons with the Dolphins.