A developer linked to major Tampa real estate, including the controversial Rome Yard project, was caught violating NFL policy and has been suspended from the league along with facing over a million dollars in fines.
Stephen M. Ross, owner of Miami Dolphins and co-founder of development company Related Group, is making national headlines this week after he was suspended by the NFL.
In a federal lawsuit, Ross was caught trying to lure current Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback Tom Brady and coach Sean Payton to the Dolphins, a violation of the league's anti-tampering policy.
Ross was also accused of telling former Dolphins coach Brian Flores to purposely lose games for money to improve the team’s college draft standing, a claim that didn’t hold up in the lawsuit against him. Flores has also filed a civil discrimination suit against the Dolphins and two other NFL teams, alleging sham interviews with himself and other coaches of color.
Along with Ross’s suspension, the Dolphins will lose two NFL draft picks. Ross will be removed from all league committees indefinitely and must pay a fine of $1.5 million.
Ross is a successful businessman who is also the Chairman and co-founder of Miami-based Related Companies. He also helped found Related Group in 1979, which is technically separate company operated by Ross' longtime friend Jorge M. Pérez.
The company is developing major properties around Tampa and has raised eyebrows in the recent past over its Rome Yard project, while facing lawsuits in Miami alleging shoddy construction and cheating investors out of millions.
Last year, Related Group came under scrutiny locally when the City of Tampa awarded the company a contract to develop an 18-acre piece of land just northwest of downtown known as Rome Yard.
A developer contested the City of Tampa’s decision to award the $300 million dollar construction contract to Related Group, which donated $10,000 to Mayor Jane Castor’s election PAC, and employed Castor’s nephew when the city made the decision to give the contract to Related.
According to records at the time, Related’s campaign contribution to Castor was its largest ever as a company.
Despite the controversy, the contract was given to Related, and the group says that the project will include 600 workforce and affordable housing units.
On July 15, Related paid $55.5 million for six acres on the west bank of the Hillsborough River, near downtown, the developer told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. TBBJ said that the group is planning a mixed-use development including 1,079 residential units with 32,760 square feet of retail space.
In June of this year, Related also purchased property on Bayshore, where the company plans to build a luxury residential tower.
The company is also the developer in the West River Redevelopment plan, in which a public housing project was torn down under former Mayor Bob Buckhorn. In its place, Related developed mixed-use buildings which offer both affordable housing and market-rate apartments.
Earlier this year, investors who sold waterfront land to the Related Group for a development in West Palm Beach sued the developer, alleging they were cheated out of an agreement that would have given them nearly $13 million.
In 2019, it was reported that a condo association in Miami opened up a lawsuit against the company, claiming shoddy construction by the developer and alleging electrical and plumbing issues.
The Related Group’s communications team has not yet commented on how the NFL scandal reflects on the company as it continues to purchase major property in Tampa, nor has it commented on the accusations against the company in lawsuits.
But in an official statement from the Dolphins, Ross said he wants to concentrate on the team’s next season.
“With regards to tampering, I strongly disagree with the conclusions and the punishment,” Ross said. “However, I will accept the outcome because the most important thing is that there be no distractions for our team as we begin an exciting and winning season.”
UPDATE: This story was updated on 08/04/2022 to reflect that Ross is a co-founder of Related Group, but that his friend and partner Jorge M. Pérez now runs the day-to-day operations of the business and that the Related Companies and Related Group are separate companies.
