Paying players to injure opponents http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7638603/new-orleans-saints-defense-had-bounty-program-nfl-says
Slap on the wrist. I don't think the Saints have a reputation around the league as a dirty team. It is funny to me how pussy the sport is these days. They need to give QB's a mini skirt and lipstick.
I'd support a lifetime ban on any coach that does that type of stuff. Also, a minimum 1 year ban for any player who collects money for it.
I don't think it's going to go that far, but I think the Saints are going to be hit with some pretty major sanctions. Loss of draft picks, maybe loss of cap space. And suspensions for Mickey Loomis, Sean Payton and Gregg Williams (who's now on the Rams) wouldn't be out of the question, either. It's a double crime...not only did they break the league's safety guidelines (which are incredibly important to the NFL with all the concern now about the long-term effects of the hits players are taking) they also circumvented the cap with these under-the-table payouts.
You get caught, you get hammered. I doubt the Timberwolves were the only ones trying to circumvent the salary cap, but they were ones dumb enough to put it in writing, got caught and suffered a massive penalty.
I believe felonies were comitted. The kind you go to prison for a long time for. Same as a loan shark paying someone to have legs broken, or beating someone up and robbing them. Where's the FBI?
The league will prattle about safety.....but what really has them annoyed is that someone circumvented their precious salary cap.
Yeah this is going a bit far, although I am not surprised. A thousand dollars per "Cart off"? Now that's fucked up.
Knowing about these bounties now finally explains the late hits on Brett Favre during the 2009 NFC Championship game. I remember watching that game, and the refs could have thrown a flag so many times during that game. I apologize for the 'music', but some of these hits are just ridiculous. [video=youtube;6i1tkbcxIno]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i1tkbcxIno&feature=related[/video]
Always a great time to see the Favre at his most Favre-iest. [video=youtube;CoJ_K4Mlt4w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoJ_K4Mlt4w&feature=related[/video]
Is a pool consisting of player money circumventing the cap, though? The Saints weren't paying the players for hits.
Supposedly, Payton's agent and Reggie Bush's agent kicked money into the pool. Also, the knockout/cart-off pool was mostly player funded, but I was under the impression that the money for interceptions and fumbles wasn't. The NFL invoked "pay for performance" which generally implies player compensation.
Ah. I guess I'm not as outraged about this as some of the talking heads on TV seem to be, but I do wonder what the refs in that NFC Championship game were thinking by not flagging obvious late hits on the QB. The one where Favre hands the ball off and still gets smoked is such a dirty play, it probably called for an ejection, let alone a personal foul.