TAMPA, Fla. — A day after the revelation that Tom Brady was having talks about joining the Dolphins in some capacity late in the 2021 season, the seven-time Super Bowl champ had a pre-planned day off from practice.
And the team’s new coach essentially called it a dead issue.
“The league took care of it,” Todd Bowles said after Wednesday morning’s practice, held at the AdventHealth Training Center’s indoor facility. “It has nothing to do with us.”
The Dolphins were hit with severe sanctions by the league — including the loss of a first-round draft pick in 2023 — when a six-month NFL probe (led by a former U.S. attorney and SEC chair) found team executives were having secret discussions with Brady as late as the end of the 2021 season about becoming a minority owner and possibly the franchise’s quarterback in 2022.
Brady remains under contract to Tampa Bay through the 2022 season. The investigations found those impermissible discussions with Miami began as early as 2019, when Brady was still a Patriot.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and team vice chairman/limited partner Brian Beal — a board member of Brady’s health and fitness company — were hit with suspensions and substantial fines.
However, NFL vice president of communications Brian McCarthy reiterated in a text message Wednesday that Brady won’t be punished.
“Our focus for discipline was on club ownership,” McCarthy said.
Bowles said Brady, who turned 45 on Wednesday, had a pre-planned day off, adding he wasn’t bothered by the fact another team was reaching out to Brady late last season while the Bucs were pursuing a second consecutive Super Bowl title.
“It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “There’s just not a lot going on in sports right now, so we’re not making it any bigger than it is.”
