Browns deny Hue Jackson or anyone else was…

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The Browns are denying claims that former head coach Hue Jackson and others were urged to lose games on purpose in an attempt to get better draft picks.

In response to claims from Jackson and the head of his foundation that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was willing to pay extra for losses, the Browns released a statement saying it’s false.

“The recent comments by Hue Jackson and his representatives relating to his tenure as our head coach are completely fabricated,” the team said. “Any accusation that any member of our organization was incentivized to deliberately lose games is categorically false.”

The accusations against the Browns came in the wake of Brian Flores’ lawsuit, which accuses Dolphins owner Stephen Ross of offering Flores a $100,000 per loss bonus in an effort to get the first pick in the draft.

Regardless of whether owners blatantly offered to pay coaches to lose, the NFL has a real problem when there’s a perception that losing is a good thing. The league ought to change the draft rules, so that teams are no longer incentivized to lose.