Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins announced they've placed the franchise tag on tight end Mike Gesicki.

ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported Miami's plan to use the tag on Gesicki.

Miami had until Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET to place the tag on Gesicki or else he would have become a free agent.

As seen in the following breakdown, Gesicki will earn $10.9 million in 2022 under the franchise tag:

The NFL has sent official franchise and transition tag numbers to its teams. All are in the memo below. pic.twitter.com/gV2iihdFaV

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 7, 2022

It would have been something of a surprise if Dolphins let the talented playmaker go elsewhere, but Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald noted they didn't give him a contract extension ahead of the 2021 season like they did with fellow 2018 draftees Jerome Baker and Jason Sanders.

That left Miami with the options of signing him to a long-term deal, franchise-tagging him or watching him go elsewhere.

Gesicki, who notably said he "enjoyed every single aspect of being in this organization" when previously talking about the Dolphins, per Jackson, ultimately stayed on the tag.

That is welcome news for Miami, which will hope the Penn State product continues his trend of putting up better numbers every season in the league. In fact, his reception totals and receiving yards have increased every year since he was a second-round pick in 2018:

• 2018: 22 catches for 202 yards and zero touchdowns

• 2019: 51 catches for 570 yards and five touchdowns

• 2020: 53 catches for 703 yards and six touchdowns

• 2021: 73 catches for 780 yards and two touchdowns

What's more, Gesicki has proved durable and appeared in 64 of a possible 65 games in his first four seasons.

He became Miami's second option behind Jaylen Waddle during the 2021 campaign thanks in large part to his impressive combination of athleticism and physicality to make plays across the middle. That meant he has been more than just a safety outlet like many tight ends.

Gesicki is also just 26 years old and figures to continue on his upward trajectory with additional experience.

This is an under-the-radar move this offseason, but the Dolphins will be better on offense as a result.            

New Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel sounds like he's ready to bring another lifeline to the Tua Tagovailoa era with more support and a system that's withstood the test of time.

As McDaniel has made his media rounds, he's touted Tagovailoa as the team's starting quarterback despite the signal-caller's inconsistencies over the past two years. The 24-year-old has thrown for 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions through 23 contests.

However, Tagovailoa offers more upside than the underwhelming crop of quarterbacks in the 2022 draft and a few veterans set to hit the open market with a chance to revitalize their careers (Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota and Mitchell Trubisky). Furthermore, the fifth pick of the 2020 draft has had flashes that suggest he could flourish in the right situation.

Dolphins general manager Chris Grier also shut down trade chatter that linked the team to Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson:

Dolphins GM Chris Grier says “the door is shut on Deshaun Watson.” He says that is definitive and they believe in Tua Tagovailoa’s development going into Year 3.

— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) March 2, 2022

Starting with offseason moves, what can the Dolphins do to help Tagovailoa?

First, Grier and McDaniel must strengthen the offensive line, which tied for 11th in sacks allowed and seemed out of sorts because of the unsettled personnel groupings. In 2021, rookie Liam Eichenberg lined up at both tackle positions.

Second-year pro Austin Jackson played left tackle and left guard. Jesse Davis played right tackle and left guard. Michael Deiter missed nine games because of foot and quad injuries, which thrust Austin Reiter and Greg Mancz into the starting spot.

On top of that, Tagovailoa had poor protection on the perimeter. Eichenberg and Davis played most of their snaps at left tackle and right tackle, respectively, giving up 17 combined sacks, per Pro Football Focus. 

Dan Le Batard, a well-known sports scribe and radio host in Miami, asked McDaniel about the Dolphins offensive line. The rookie head coach noted that he would make some changes and develop players within the group (h/t Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald).

"I have watched the tape. I see ... some pieces to work with," McDaniel said. "It's a point of emphasis. I'm making sure we have guys that can teach what we need to teach. We add players that are of value, and we emphasize stuff."

Eichenberg will go into his second campaign, so the coaching staff has plenty of time to mold him into a starting-caliber tackle. Davis has started in 72 out of 80 games for the team since 2017, mostly on the right side of the line, but he turns 31 years old in September. At his age, with issues in pass protection, the veteran isn't a quality first-stringer.

Perhaps the Dolphins, who will have a projected $60.2 million to spend, per Over the Cap, pursue three-time Pro Bowl tackle Terron Armstead in free agency.

They can also add a tackle with one of their two top-50 draft picks. Bernhard Raimann is a bit raw because of his inexperience at the position but showed significant growth in a short period at Central Michigan. At 6'4", 324 pounds, Kentucky's Darian Kinnard can become a protective wall on Tagovailoa's blind side.

Northern Iowa's Trevor Penning boosted his draft stock during Senior Bowl week, which may put him in the top-20 range. If he slips to No. 29, though, Miami should consider drafting him.

McDaniel can also attempt to lure free-agent guard Laken Tomlinson to Miami. They worked together for five seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (2017-2021), while the former served as the run game coordinator and offensive coordinator under Kyle Shanahan. Coming off his first Pro Bowl campaign, the seven-year veteran can teach the system to the younger offensive linemen, which leads us to a wider scope of focus for the offense.

While talking to Travis Wingfield of the Dolphins' official website, McDaniel emphasized the importance of the ground game (h/t Jackson).

[A good] run game empowers the quarterback. There are a lot of people pretty excited about throwing the ball. That gives an advantage to people who try to run the ball. When you run the ball, you're taking time off the clock. Because you have to have the ball to score unless you turn it over, there will always be a competitive advantage if you run the ball well.

In order to run the ball effectively, Miami must improve in the trenches. With an unstable offensive line, the club accumulated the third-fewest rushing yards and averaged 3.5 yards per carry (ranked 31st) in 2021.

Along with a couple of additions to the offensive line, the Dolphins should consider proven running backs in Leonard Fournette, Melvin Gordon III or even Raheem Mostert, who's injury-prone but knows the system in San Francisco, averaging 5.7 yards per carry since the 2017 term.

In the third or fourth round of the draft, Miami may have a chance to select Florida's Dameon Pierce or Georgia's James Cook. 

At 5'10", 215 pounds, Pierce runs downhill with a purpose and hits holes without wasted movement, averaging 5.5 yards per carry and scoring 23 touchdowns through four collegiate terms.

Meanwhile, Cook can easily rack up scrimmage yards with his dual-threat capabilities as a ball-carrier and receiver in the short passing game. He logged 67 receptions for 730 yards and six touchdowns at Georgia. Both can round out a solid running back stable with Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed. 

With a viable ground attack, McDaniel can continue to design plays that worked in Tagovailoa's favor this past season. He led the league in passing yards (847) out of run-pass option plays and ranked 14th in passing yards (990) out of play action despite missing four games.

The Dolphins' ability to threaten defenses with the run can open up the field for their wide receivers, particularly Jaylen Waddle, who led all 2021 rookies in receptions (104). If you ask McDaniel's opinion of him, he could become one of the NFL's brightest stars.

"I talked with him [the day after being hired], and he understands his leadership role on this team," McDaniel said about Waddle to Le Batard. "The easiest way to get yards is to give it to a really talented player. I would start him in fantasy leagues." 

Dolphins wide receivers coach Wes Welker compared Waddle to Kansas City Chiefs' three-time All-Pro Tyreek Hill via Alain Poupart of SI.com. 

I think it's acceleration. Especially like when he gets a ball in my hand. We've got the ball in his hands, it's kind of Tyreek Hill-ish, how he's just able to get that ball and really burst out of it. A little bit different body types and stuff. But I kind of that's what came to mind whenever I was kind of watching him coming to Alabama and seeing him on film here.

Coming off back-to-back winning seasons under former head coach Brian Flores, the Dolphins have a decent roster. However, their potential growth and stability can take the franchise to another level with Tagovailoa under center.

McDaniel can add and establish principles of Shanahan's outside zone run system via coaching and acquisitions from free agency or the draft, further aiding his quarterback's progress. If he meshes that with more RPO and play-action designs, Tagovailoa—who has a quick release and an accurate arm—can carve up defenses in the middle of the field with a pass-catching tight end.

For that, the Dolphins could either re-sign Mike Gesicki or go after Dalton Schultz, who's set to test the free-agent market. Either way, Waddle would have more one-on-one opportunities on the perimeter.

In terms of stability, McDaniel, who plans to call offensive plays, could stop the pattern of new voices in Tagovailoa's ear. The quarterback had Chan Gailey as an offensive coordinator during his rookie year, then had a convoluted trio of co-offensive coordinators George Godsey and Eric Studesville and quarterbacks coach Charlie Frye sharing the responsibility of play-calling during the 2021 season, per Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Most importantly, Tagovailoa has to avoid significant injuries, which have hindered him in the past. If McDaniel can oversee improved offensive line play to keep Tagavailoa upright and provide a complementary ground attack, he might be able to restore Tagavailoa's reputation as the franchise cornerstone.

                       

College statistics provided by cfbstats.com.

Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.

It had been rumored this week that the Miami Dolphins had hopes of pairing the now-retired Sean Payton and Tom Brady together as the team's new head coach and quarterback this offseason.

On Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier confirmed to reporters that the team reached out to the New Orleans Saints to gauge Payton's availability before his retirement. However, Grier said the team had "no conversations" about bringing in Brady.

On Monday, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that the Dolphins had planned pursuits of Payton and Brady, but those plans changed after former head coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit Feb. 1 against the NFL alleging racial discrimination in hiring practices.

Flores' lawsuit stated, among other things, that he was subjected to "sham" interviews as a Black head coach simply to satisfy the Rooney Rule when teams already knew they weren't going to hire him. A potential agreement between the Dolphins and Payton likely would've supported Flores' assertions that head coaches of color don't get similar opportunities.

If Miami were to reach a deal with Payton, it would've had to come to an agreement on compensation with New Orleans to facilitate the hire. But Grier told reporters that the Saints would've blocked any possible move for Payton, who ended up resigning Jan. 25.

The Dolphins hired Mike McDaniel, who is biracial, as their next head coach on Feb. 6. He will be tasked with leading the development of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who is entering his third NFL season in 2022.

Tagovailoa threw for 2,653 yards, 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 13 games last year. There has been rampant speculation that Miami is hoping to find an upgrade at the quarterback position, but apparently Brady was never on the team's radar. The 44-year-old future Hall of Famer retired Feb. 1 after leading the league with 5,316 passing yards and 43 touchdowns last season.

Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said the "door is shut" on the team's possible pursuit of Deshaun Watson during a meeting with reporters Wednesday.

Grier added the Dolphins plan to move forward with Tua Tagovailoa as their starting quarterback. Miami was regularly linked in Watson trade rumors throughout the 2021 season; the Dolphins were the only franchise the three-time Pro Bowler agreed to waive his no-trade clause for to facilitate a deal, according to Aaron Wilson for Texans Daily.

Watson requested a trade from the Houston Texans last offseason but sat out the 2021 campaign after 22 women filed lawsuits against him alleging sexual assault and misconduct. The lawsuits remain pending, and Watson is the subject of ongoing criminal investigations as well.

It's unlikely any team will trade for Watson until his legal situation is sorted.

The Dolphins drafted Tagovailoa with the No. 5 pick in the 2020 draft, and he's had an up-and-down first two NFL seasons. The Alabama product threw for 2,653 yards and 16 touchdowns against 10 interceptions in 2021, flashing pinpoint accuracy on underneath throws but a lack of willingness to take chances down the field.

New Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel told Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN that he expects Tagovailoa to have success in his offensive scheme, which is predicated on throws that give receivers the freedom to make plays after the catch. 

What I've seen is a skill set that I'm familiar with, that's very successful in this offense. You're seeing a very accurate passer that receivers love to catch footballs from — tight spirals and accurate throws, which are huge for run after the catch and YAC yardage. What that means for an offense is if you have people who can run after the catch, that's an outstanding skill set for him.

I also see some great athleticism, some natural pocket movement and really, a tough competitor that's willing to stand in there when necessary. All of these things that are components to a quarterback's game that are very important in NFL systems.

The investment level in Tagovailoa has waxed and waned over his first two years, with former coach Brian Flores benching him on a number of occasions in 2020 and the team openly flirting with acquiring Watson last season. Grier didn't give Tagovailoa the most rousing endorsement Wednesday either, saying, "I can't say he can't be," when asked if Tua could develop into an elite quarterback.

What is clear is that Tagovailoa will go into the 2022 season given a full chance to thrive under McDaniel. If he doesn't, bets are likely off going into next offseason. 

The Miami Dolphins planned pursuits head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Tom Brady this offseason, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

The strategy shifted after former coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL, and specifically the Dolphins, New York Giants and Denver Broncos alleging racial discrimination in hiring practices. The Dolphins instead hired Mike McDaniel to be the next head coach, while Tua Tagovailoa remains the starting quarterback.

Per Florio, the Dolphins contacted the Saints about Payton after the coach resigned on Jan. 25. The two teams would have to agree on compensation for a trade to hire Payton, but New Orleans declined permission to even speak to the coach.

Flores filed his lawsuit on Feb. 1.

In the lawsuit, Flores said he went on "sham" interviews as a minority candidate to satisfy the Rooney Rule when teams knew they weren't going to hire him.

A behind-the-scenes deal for Payton, who is white, might have been another example of skirting the Rooney Rule. McDaniel, who is biracial, was hired on Feb. 6.

Brady, meanwhile, was still a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before announcing his retirement on Feb. 1.

Despite stepping away from the sport, the 44-year-old can still obviously play at a high level. The future Hall of Famer earned MVP votes this season after leading the NFL with 5,316 passing yards and 43 touchdowns.

Adding Brady would have upgraded an offense that ranked 22nd in the league in points scored this past year on the way to a 9-8 record.

However, the Dolphins' interest in Brady also serves as a reminder to another allegation in Flores' lawsuit: the former coach said Miami owner Stephen Ross tried to pressure him to recruit a quarterback in a violation of the league's tampering rules. 

Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post reported the quarterback in question was Brady.

Miami seemingly wanted another shot at the superstar with Flores now gone.    

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores said during an interview with Bryant Gumbel for HBO's Real Sports that the AFC East team offered him a non-disparagement agreement for millions of dollars after he was fired.

"Signing that separation agreement would have really silenced me," Flores said when explaining why he declined it.

https://twitter.com/RealSportsHBO/status/1496213028387401730

Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL and its teams alleging racist hiring practices and discrimination. Included in the lawsuit were allegations that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per loss in an effort to improve the team's draft position during the 2019 season.

Flores also said Ross pressured him into recruiting a "prominent quarterback," which would have violated the NFL's tampering rules.

Ross denied the allegations and called them "false, malicious and defamatory."

The team also released a statement Tuesday, calling the NDA allegations "categorically false":

The Dolphins have released this statement in response to Brian Flores’ claim that he refused to sign an NDA following his firing on Jan. 10 pic.twitter.com/tiQIrUh1TU

— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) February 22, 2022

Flores' attorneys responded to Miami's assertion:

In response to the #Dolphins calling Brian Flores' assertion of an NDA "categorically false," below are screenshots from the draft agreement & payment termination notice.

If #BrianFlores had signed this, he would have been gagged and unable to talk about his experience.#NFL pic.twitter.com/rlEgTXsd4I

— Wigdor LLP (@WigdorLaw) February 23, 2022

The Dolphins started 0-7 during the 2019 season and appeared on their way to the No. 1 pick, which could have given them the opportunity to draft Joe Burrow. Instead, they turned things around down the stretch and finished with a 5-11 record and the No. 5 pick, which they used to select Tua Tagovailoa.

The Dolphins improved to 10-6 in 2020 and 9-8 in 2021 to finish with back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2002 and 2003, but it wasn't enough to convince the team to bring Flores back for the 2022 campaign.

Flores also said the Denver Broncos and New York Giants conducted "sham" interviews with him regarding their head coaching vacancies in an effort to satisfy the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview at least two candidates of color.

Flores also said New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick mistakenly texted him instead of Brian Daboll to offer congratulations for landing the Giants job. Flores had not yet been interviewed when he received the text message, and New York eventually hired Daboll.

Former #Dolphins HC Brian Flores is suing the NFL and the Giants alleging racism in their hiring process. Flores has texts from Bill Belichick congratulating him for getting the job — but Flores had yet to interview. The text was meant for Brian Daboll. https://t.co/gmPUw9gHIq pic.twitter.com/tyTztTf3br

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 1, 2022

He told Gumbel he hasn't spoken to Belichick since filing the lawsuit but would be open to a conversation. Flores was on New England's coaching staff from 2004 through 2018.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have since hired Flores as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach.

Brian Flores expressed his belief Monday that his race played a role in the Miami Dolphins firing him as head coach at the end of the 2021 NFL season.

Appearing on the I Am Athlete podcast with Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel and former NFL wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Chad Johnson (h/t Hal Habib of USA Today), Flores gave his thoughts on getting fired despite leading Miami to back-to-back winning seasons.

Regarding his surprising termination, Flores said:

"I think race played a role in my firing. What I mean by that is, there were things I was asked to do. There were conversations that were had. I was made out to be a difficult person to work with. I think my white counterparts wouldn’t have been asked to do the things I was asked to do."

On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced they hired Flores to serve as the senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach under head coach Mike Tomlin.

Earlier this month, Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL, the Dolphins, the Denver Broncos and the New York Giants. Flores said that he was discriminated against by the Dolphins and during the Broncos' and Giants' head coach hiring processes.

One of the allegations made by Flores was that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered to pay him $100,000 per loss in 2019.

Flores also said Ross tried to pressure him into a meeting with a "prominent quarterback" in 2020 that would have violated NFL tampering rules. Flores said he was "treated with disdain and held out as someone who was noncompliant and difficult to work with" after refusing to do so.

After spending 11 years on the New England Patriots' coaching staff, Flores was hired by the Dolphins in 2019.

Little was expected of Miami in Flores' first season, but he clearly got the players to rally behind him and led the Dolphins to a 5-11 record.

That proved to be a solid building block for 2020, as the Dolphins went 10-6. That normally would have been enough for a playoff berth, but a loss to the Buffalo Bills in the final week of the regular season knocked them out.

It appeared as though a huge fall from grace was occurring last season when seven straight losses gave the Dolphins at 1-7 record, but they became the first team in NFL history to have seven-game losing and winning streaks in the same season.

Miami fell short of the playoffs again, but finishing with a 9-8 record seemed impossible when the Dolphins were sitting at 1-7.

The Dolphins have denied Flores' allegations and referred to the statement they made upon firing Flores in January.

At the time, Ross said he felt the "key dynamics of our football organization weren't functioning at a level I want it to be."

Flores' firing left Tomlin as the only Black head coach in the NFL. Since then, the Houston Texans elevated Lovie Smith to head coach and the Dolphins hired Mike McDaniel, who is biracial.

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is not upset over Bill Belichick's text messages regarding the New York Giants head coaching search.

During an appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast, Flores was asked if he felt like he damaged his relationship with the New England Patriots head coach by including his text messages in his lawsuit against the NFL and several of its teams.

"I'm not mad," Flores responded. "I mean, Bill did what a lot of us... He sent a text message to the wrong person. I mean, I'm certainly guilty of that before and, to me, I thought it was specific to the lawsuit in that, for me, it confirmed a lot of things that I thought were going on that I think a lot of Black, minority coaches think are going on."

Belichick appeared to accidentally text Flores congratulating him for landing the Giants head coaching job when he actually meant to text Brian Daboll who, at the time, was the Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator.

Belichick's texts appeared to indicate Daboll received the Giants head coaching job before Flores was set to interview three days later. In his lawsuit, Flores said the Giants interviewed him just to satisfy the NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview candidates of color for coaching jobs. He included Belichick's text messages in the filing.

Flores also alleged discrimination in his firing by the Dolphins and said team owner Stephen Ross offered him money to lose games on purpose during the 2019 season in order to get a higher draft pick.

In addition, Flores said that John Elway arrived to his head coaching interview hungover in 2019. He is also adding a retaliation claim to the lawsuit against the Houston Texans for not hiring him, according to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio.

The Dolphins surprisingly fired Flores after he led the team to two straight winning season in 2020 and 2021. Before that, Miami hadn't had back-to-back winning seasons since the 2002 and 2003 campaigns.

Since then, the Pittsburgh Steelers have hired Flores as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach.

"I am excited about Brian Flores joining our coaching staff given his history of developing and teaching defensive players during his time in the NFL," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement. "Brian's resume speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team."

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores still believes in Tua Tagovailoa as an NFL quarterback.

Appearing on the I Am Athlete YouTube show (starts at 0:30 mark), Flores said there was a "great deal of respect" between himself and Tagovailoa.

"So you hear this crazy kind of narrative that's out there, but this is a young man who works, who developed, and got better over two years, and I think he's got a bright future," he added.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA6h5n4L5cY?start=1s

There were reports that one of the reasons the Dolphins fired Flores after the regular season was because of his relationship with key members of the organization, including Tagovailoa. 

Per ESPN's Jeff Darlington, Flores' relationship with Tagovailoa and general manager Chris Grier "deteriorated to a pretty bad place."

Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Flores and Tagovailoa got into a shouting match at halftime during a game this season.

The partnership between Flores and Tagovailoa led to some success on the field for the Dolphins, though they never made it to the postseason.

Miami has gone 13-8 in games Tagovailoa has started over the past two seasons, compared to 6-6 with other quarterbacks during that span.

New head coach Mike McDaniel told Tagovailoa on a FaceTime call after he was hired that his job is to "coach you to get all that greatness out of you," per ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques. 

The Dolphins selected Tagovailoa with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 draft. He has thrown for 4,467 yards, 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions and completed 66.2 percent of his attempts in 23 appearances.     

Recently retired quarterback Tom Brady is reportedly a "name to watch" for a potential ownership stake in the Miami Dolphins if Stephen Ross opts to sell the NFL franchise.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported Thursday that Ross could decide to sell the organization before the league investigates allegations brought forward by former head coach Brian Flores, including an alleged offer of $100,000 per loss in 2019.

Ross' business partner, Bruce Beal, holds the first right to buy the Dolphins from Ross, and there's a "lingering belief" Beal would sell a small percentage of the team to Brady, per Florio.

The 81-year-old real estate billionaire joined the team's ownership group in 2008 and became the majority owner with a 95 percent stake one year later.

In January 2020, Ross told Armando Salguero, the of the Miami Herald, that he didn't plan to sell the franchise during his lifetime.

"I have no interest in selling. Zero. Got it? That I can tell you," he said. "People want to write, they can write whatever they want. I'm the owner 'til I die. I love it."

That stance may be changing, though.

Florio noted that given the likelihood that Flores' claims "will be corroborated," it could open Ross up to potential criminal violations under the U.S.' Sports Bribery Act. So he could instead decide to sell the team to Beal and move on.

Flores' allegations came as part of a lawsuit filed against the NFL and three of its teams seeking damages for racial discrimination.

Meanwhile, Brady announced his retirement Feb. 1 after 22 seasons with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers that resulted in seven Super Bowl championships, the most ever by a player.

Celebrity Net Worth lists the legendary quarterback's net worth at $250 million, and his wife, model Gisele Bundchen, checks in at $400 million, giving the family the financial bottom line necessary to become part of an NFL ownership group.

It's unclear whether the couple is interested in such a venture, but Brady said on the Let's Go! podcast (via ESPN's Jenna Laine) while he was contemplating retirement that those familial decisions would pave his future.

"I said this a few years ago, it's what relationships are all about," he said. "It's not always what I want. It's what we want as a family. And I'm gonna spend a lot of time with them and figure out in the future what's next."

His longtime on-field rival, Peyton Manning, has also been linked to a group with interest in buying the Denver Broncos, so that friendly rivalry could take on a new form in the years ahead.

That said, so far it's unclear whether Ross has a genuine interest in selling the Dolphins.