Lhe NFL is investigating claims by former Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson that assured that his team deliberately lost games during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
Jackson, now a coach at Grambling State, was fired by Browns owners, Dee and Jimmy Haslam, after the first eight meetings of the 2018 season, with a record of 3-36-1.
In February, Jackson indicated in a series of social media posts that the team paid him bonuses to encourage him to lose and that he was prepared to comply. Jackson, however, later softened those claims.
The Browns went 1-15 in 2016 and 0-16 in 2017. The slump allowed the team to secure the first overall pick in the 2017 and 2018 drafts, which they used to draft star college players Myles Garrett and Baker Mayfield.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed that the league has hired former Securities and Exchange Commission chairwoman Mary Jo White to investigate Jackson’s allegations. “The review is ongoing and is expected to be completed soon,” McCarthy said in an email.
