Dolphins Issue Statement Regarding Flores' NDA Claim

Excerpts from former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores' latest national television interview were released Tuesday afternoon and the organization has fired back with a statement strongly denying Flores' assertion that owner Stephen Ross asked him to sign a non-disparagement agreement (NDA) after he was fired Jan. 10.

"This latest assertion by Brian Flores that Steve Ross mentioned an NDA to him is categorically false," the statement from the team began. "This just did not happen and we simply cannot understand why Brian continues this pattern of making unfounded statements that he knows are untrue.

"We are fully cooperating with the NFL investigation and look forward to all of the facts coming out, which we are confident will prove that his claims are false and defamatory."

Flores' assertion was revealed in excerpts released by HBO prior to the former Dolphins head coach's televised interview on "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel," whose latest episode is scheduled to premier Tuesday night at 10 p.m. ET.

This is the exchange between Gumbel and Flores regarding the NDA (also called a separation agreement), with Flores attorneys Doug Wigdor and John Elefterakis also involved in the conversation.

BRYANT GUMBEL: I was surprised to learn that when you were let go by the Dolphins-- that you were asked to sign an NDA, a non-disparagement agreement. And you declined.

BRIAN FLORES: Yeah, I think, you know, just signing that, you know, separation agreement would have-- really silenced me.

BRYANT GUMBEL: How much-- how much money did you wind up leaving on the table by-- by choosing to not sign that agreement?

BRIAN FLORES: A lot.

BRYANT GUMBEL: A good-- a good amount.

BRIAN FLORES: A lot-- a lotta money.

BRYANT GUMBEL: What's a good amount?

JOHN ELEFTERAKIS: It was millions of dollars.

DOUG WIGDOR: It was two years-- it was two years-- it was a contract, and-- and he-- you know, to-- to-- to Coach Flores' credit, you know, he wasn't gonna sign that, because he wanted-- it wasn't about the money. If it was about the money he would have signed it. What he did instead was he filed this lawsuit so that he could help other coaches, now and in the-- and in the future.

DOUG WIGDOR: But in terms of the NDAs, I mean this is-- this is how they run their playbook. So if a coach in--

BRYANT GUMBEL: They being the owners?

DOUG WIGDOR: The owners. So-- so if-- if a contract-- if-- if a coach is terminated with a couple years or a year left on their contract, they don't get paid, to John's point, unless they sign a waiver, an NDA, confidentiality, and non-disparagement. So they buy their silence.

BRYANT GUMBEL: It was Steve Ross who asked you to sign the NDA. Ultimately, the owner of the Dolphins. You chose not to.

BRIAN FLORES: Uh-huh (AFFIRM).

Less than an hour after the Dolphins' statement, Flores' attorneys fired back on Twitter with screenshots of the non-disaparagement agreement.

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

Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL (and the Dolphins, Giants and Broncos specifically with the potential other teams to be added) Feb. 1, 22 days after he was fired following his third season as Dolphins head coach.

The lawsuit alleges systemic racism by the NFL in its hiring practices, and Flores said on the I Am Athlete podcast Monday that he believed racism played a role in his firing.

The lawsuit also contains an allegation that Ross offered him $100,000 per loss in 2019 so the team could secure as high a draft pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

Wigdor said Flores and his camp "definitely have corroborating evidence" to support his claim.