Vikings, Brad Childress, Ben Leber Deny Alleged 2008-09 Bounty Program

In an excerpt of Jeff Pearlman's Brett Favre biography that Deadspin posted Oct. 25 (which contains profanity), former Minnesota Vikings guard Artis Hicks said the team had a bounty program similar to the one the New Orleans Saints used in the late 2000s.

The organization fired back Oct. 27, saying "there is no truth to the story," per Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.

The Saints organization was infamously penalized for a bounty program it ran under then-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Commissioner Roger Goodell handed down perhaps the most severe punishments in league history, including suspending head coach Sean Payton for the entire 2012 season.

A majority of the investigation focused on Saints players' attempts to hurt Favre, who was then quarterbacking for the Vikings. However, Hicks said in Pearlman's book that the Vikings had a system of their own (via Deadspin):

"

It was part of the culture. I had coaches start a pot and all the veterans put in an extra $100, $200, and if you hurt someone special, you get the money. There was a bottom line, and I think we all bought in: you’re there to win, and if taking out the other team’s best player helps you win, hey, it’s nothing personal. Just business. ... This isn’t a game or culture for the fainthearted. You bleed, you suffer, you sacrifice, and if need be, you try and knock people out. It’s the NFL.

"

On Sunday, Hicks clarified the comments he made to Pearlman, per Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune:

"

No, I never told him any specifics, I never named names, I never said… Only thing I told him as far as specifics was I had been part of a meeting where players were amongst ourselves as part of a unit. We kind of felt like the last time we played the team, they kind of did some dirty things to our running back or quarterback. When we played them again later in the year it was, "Hey, when you get a chance to get this guy, dinner is on me." That was as detailed as I got. Again, it was never any specifics on what team I was with or anything like that.

"

Former linebacker Ben Leber denied the allegations on social media.

“I never heard of any bounty program existing within #Vikings locker room,” he tweeted Wednesday. “We had incentives for big plays, not injuries.”

Former Vikings head coach Brad Childress, who served in the position from 2006 to 2010, also denied the allegations made in the book.

“I had a great opportunity to coach a lot of great people there, including Artis Hicks, at the Minnesota Vikings,” Childress told reporters Thursday. “I have too much respect for the Wilf family, professional football to have anything to do with a bounty system. So let it stand at that.”

Childress serves as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The NFL has not commented on the book's allegations.