‘Unprecedented’ violations and lost draft picks

A busy week of NFL discipline continued Tuesday as the league stripped the Miami Dolphins of their 2023 first-round pick, among other measures, for tampering violations commissioner Roger Goodell said were of “unprecedented scope and severity.”

The announcement came one day after an independent disciplinary officer suspended Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson for six games following allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. It’s six months after former Dolphins coach Brian Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against the league, accusing the New York Giants and Denver Broncos of conducting sham interviews in order to fulfill Rooney Rule requirements, and charging the Dolphins with incentivizing losses and applying pressure to improperly recruit Tom Brady.

Tuesday’s ruling addressed the last two items on that docket. The issues of sham interviews and other potential illegal labor practices remain to be addressed in court.

In the end, an independent investigation, led by former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, uncovered one of the most extensive cases of tampering in league history. Over the course of two years, the Dolphins tried to recruit Brady and coach Sean Payton to join the franchise when both were under contract with other teams. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a statement he “strongly disagrees with the conclusions and the punishment,” but the league said there would be no appeal.

Here’s a closer look at what we know, including the semantics involved in the public statements regarding tampering, and what could be next.

What did the Dolphins do?

According to the investigation, the Dolphins spent two years trying to recruit Brady — first from the New England Patriots and later from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — to join the franchise. Much of the discussions focused…