New Orleans Saints Bounty: Why Roger Goodell Must Punish Teams for Dirty Tactics

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell must severely punish the New Orleans Saints and any other team that runs a "bounty program" where opposing players are targeted.

UPDATE: Friday, March 2 at 6:51 p.m. ET

The Washington Post is reporting that the Washington Redskins had a bounty system while Gregg Williams was with the team as defensive coordinator.

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Washington Post reports Redskins had a bounty system for big hits on opponents under their former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 2, 2012"

According to ESPN, NFL security has been investigating a bounty program ran by the New Orleans Saints during the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons. The league analyzed over 50,000 pages of material and have determined that the Saints are guilty of having bounties put on opposing players, two of which include former quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Brett Favre.

Per ESPN.com:

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The investigation by the league's security department determined that an 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.

In some cases, the amounts pledged were both significant and directed against a specific opposing player, according to the league's investigation.

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis failed to stop the bounty program when directed to do so by Saints owner Tom Benson, while coach Sean Payton was aware of the allegations but did not pursue them or take steps to stop the "bounty" program, according to the investigation's findings.

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Commissioner Goodell spoke about the matter on Friday:

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"It is our responsibility to protect player safety and the integrity of our game, and this type of conduct will not be tolerated," Goodell said in a statement.

"We have made significant progress in changing the culture with respect to player safety and we are not going to relent. We have more work to do and we will do it."

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Seeing as the NFL alerted the Saints and they still did not stop, the punishment should be serious. The Saints were rewarding players for hurting the opposition and that's inexcusable on all levels.

Football, when played legally and clean, is already a violent sport. When there is an intent to injure, something must be done before the violence becomes downright dangerous. 

Saints owner Tom Benson released a statement on the bounty program on Friday, saying via NOLA.com:

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"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."

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One example of the team's bounty program came before the team played the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game during their Super Bowl run of 2009. According to NFL Insider Adam Schefter, linebacker Jonathan Vilma put a bounty on Vikings quarterback Brett Favre.

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Schefter on NFL Live: "In week of the NFCCG, Jonathan Vilma put $10K on a table & said 'this goes to the guy that knocks out Brett Favre.'"

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"— Evan Silva (@evansilva) March 2, 2012"

The Saints have disgraced the game and have created a real nightmare for the NFL. They even rewarded players if the opponents they hurt were carted off the field with an injury.

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Payments were made for plays such as interceptions and fumble recoveries. But the program also included "bounty" payments for "cart-offs," meaning that the opposing player was carried off the field, and "knockouts," meaning that the opposing player was not able to return.

The investigation showed that the total amount of funds in the pool may have reached $50,000 or more at its height during the 2009 playoffs. The program paid players $1,500 for a "knockout" and $1,000 for a "cart-off," with payouts doubling or tripling during the playoffs.

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Goodell has to slam the Saints with fines, suspensions and draft pick losses for this disgusting bounty program. Not only should the Saints lose their first round pick for the 2012 NFL Draft, they should be forced to forfeit their first round picks for at least two more seasons.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who was with the Saints during the bounty program but is now with the St. Louis Rams, should be suspended and fined as well.

How bad could the punishment be? ESPN's Adam Schefter thinks the commissioner could come down on the Saints harder than the league punished the New England Patriots for the spygate scandal in 2007.

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A safe prediction: Saints will be disciplined far worse than the Patriots were for Spygate.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 2, 2012"

It's against NFL rules for teams to pay non-contract bonuses, which is one reason why this bounty program is punishable, but it's the despicable idea that players were going out onto the field and intentionally trying to hurt players that is the real punishable offense.

Goodell has to make an example of the players, coaches and front office people responsible for this offense. In an era of professional football where player safety is so important, the NFL cannot go soft on their punishment of the Saints. 

The coaches who knew about this bounty program and either helped run it or didn't stop it should be suspended and fined to the maximum level allowed under the new CBA.

We teach our kids that sportsmanship is the most important thing in sports—respect the opponent no matter the score of the game.

For coaches, who are supposed to be responsible adults, to do nothing to their players who were going on the field to hurt players is embarrassing. The fact these players were rewarded with cash bonuses for hurting opponents takes the issue to a whole new level. 

Putting a bounty on opposing players can not only hurt professional careers, but severely injure players to the point of ruining lives. 

Commissioner Goodell must show absolutely no mercy in punishing the Saints to ensure this garbage never happens again.

Follow @NicholasGoss35