Browns stated they "welcomed" the NFL's inquiry into tanking claims made by Jackson

In February, former head coach of the Cleveland Browns Hue Jackson made claims that he received bonuses from the team for intentionally losing games. This process is commonly referred to as "tanking", which the NFL takes seriously.

In an effort to clear this up, the Browns have spoken to and are fully collaborating with an NFL investigator. Jackson's claims state the team performed this process throughout the 2016 and 2017 seasons. 

 Jackson told ESPN: "Teams that win are just not the youngest team, not that the youngest teams can't win, so I didn't understand the process."

He continued: "I didn't understand what the plan was, I asked for clarity because it did not talk about winning and losing until Year 3 and 4. So that told you right there that something wasn't correct but I still couldn't understand it until I had the team that I had."

Jackson was fired as the head coach eight games into the 2018 season with a 3-36-1 record. Through the 2016 and 2017 seasons, the Browns had a record of 1-15 and 0-16.

Jackson has since recanted his allegations against the team, but it still warranted an investigation. The Browns spokesperson Brian McCarthy confirmed the NFL engaged former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White to look into Jackson's allegations.

McCarthy stated: "The review is ongoing and is expected to conclude soon," in an email to the Associated Press.

The team itself also released a statement on Monday: "Even though Hue recanted his allegations a short time after they were made, it was important to us and to the integrity of the game to have an independent review of the allegations."

The statement continued: "We welcomed an investigation and we are confident the results will show, as we've previously stated, that these allegations are categorically false. We have cooperated with Mary Jo White and look forward to the findings."