why would they do this? makes you wonder what other teams are doing as well... while i do enjoy the bone crushing hits on recievers if its legal, this ISNT what should be going on.... BOOOOOO
The New Orleans Saints face heavy punishment for implementing an illegal "bounty" system whereby players were offered cash incentives for injuring opponents, the NFL announced Friday.
The Saints' cash pool reportedly awarded $1,500 for knocking out an opposing player and $1,000 for inflicting an injury resulting in an opponent getting carted off the field.
As many as 27 players are said to have participated.
"The league's investigation determined that this improper 'Pay for Performance' program included 'bounty' payments to players for inflicting injuries on opposing players that would result in them being removed from a game," the NFL said in a statement.
"The players regularly contributed cash into a pool and received improper cash payments of two kinds from the pool based on their play in the previous week's game."
The league said commissioner Roger Goodell would determine the punishment for breaking rules prohibiting bounty payments. The penalty could include suspensions, fines or forfeiture of draft picks, according to multiple reports.
"The payments here are particularly troubling because they involved not just payments for 'performance,' but also for injuring opposing players," Goodell said. "The bounty rule promotes two key elements of NFL football: player safety and competitive integrity."
The NFL began its investigation into the alleged payments in 2010 after the Saints were accused of targeting quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Brett Favre during New Orleans' run to Super Bowl XLIV.
According to the league, 22 to 27 defensive players on the Saints' roster participated in the payout program, which was implemented by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams with the knowledge of the rest of the defensive coaching staff.
Saints head coach Sean Payton was not a direct participant in the payouts, but was aware of the allegations and did not inquire about or attempt to stop the program, according to the NFL.
Williams left the Saints this offseason to join the St. Louis Rams' staff with new head coach Jeff Fisher.
Saints owner Tom Benson issued a statement Friday saying, "I have been made aware of the NFL's findings relative to the 'Bounty Rule' and how it relates to our club.
"I have offered and the NFL has received our full cooperation in their investigation. While the findings may be troubling, we look forward to putting this behind us and winning more championships in the future for our fans."
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/New-O...ents-NFL-030212
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