NFL Will Reportedly Reduce Jonathan Vilma Suspension If Saints LB Drops Lawsuit

Jonathan Vilma's saga has extended beyond "Bountygate" because he challenged the NFL's league office head on. Vilma didn't take his year-long suspension from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sitting down, and it appears this story has taken yet another turn.

UPDATE: Monday, August 6, 2012 at 11:08 am EST

The NFL has released a statement disputing reports that they have offered Saints LB Jonathan Vilma a deal that would reduce his suspension, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

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"NFL senior VP of communications Greg Aiello: "'Today's report about a settlement offer by the league to Jonathan Vilma is completely inaccurate. No such settlement offer has been made. We will continue to respect the court proceedings on this matter and have no further comment at this time.'"

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UPDATE: Monday, August 6, 2012 at 8:46 am EST

Conflicting reports continue to sprinkle out of the NFL regarding a potential offer from the League to Jonathan Vilma about reducing the Saints LB's suspension for his role in the bounty scandal. CBS' Will Brinson sheds more light on the situation:

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"...CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora reports that settlement talks are definitely ongoing, but that the situation is "fluid" and there are no guarantees when it comes to working out a settlement.

League sources did tell La Canfora, though, that the NFL has shown a willingness to reduce Vilma's sentence substantially in exchange for certain concessions, such as dropping the suit."

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UPDATE: Monday, August 6, 2012 at 7:24 am EST

NFL.com's Steve Wyche is reporting that the NFL has not offered Saints LB Jonathan Vilma a settlement offer. 

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"The NFL "has made no settlement offer" to New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma regarding his season-long suspension for his role in a "bounty" program despite reports to the contrary, a source close to the situation told NFL.com's Steve Wyche on Monday morning.

The source told Wyche that the lack of an offer does not mean a proposal might not be made in the future."

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It was originally reported on Sunday, August 5, 2012 by ESPN reporters Ed Werder, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen that Vilma's suspension may be up for negotiation:

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The NFL has offered to reduce New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma's year-long suspension to eight games as part of ongoing settlement talks involving the league, the NFL Players Association and legal representatives for the four players who were suspended for their alleged participation in the team's bounty program from 2009-2011, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

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Vilma's suspension won't be reduced for free. According to the report, decreasing his punishment "is conditional upon Vilma dropping a civil lawsuit charging commissioner Roger Goodell with defamation of character."

The report then goes on to state that Friday's meeting with U.S. District Court Judge Ginger Berrigan "could serve as a soft deadline to reach a settlement." That doesn't leave much time to reach a major decision regarding the offseason's most controversial issue.

Berrigan, at least, is familiar with the case. She oversaw the original hearing, and she's heard the testimony regarding the Saints' suspensions. She understands the situation as well as anyone, and the report states that she "expressed concern about Goodell's actions in the first hearing."

Sources claim, according to ESPN's report, that Goodell was willing to reduce the initial suspensions of the Saints players if they had gone through the proper channels for an appeal. Vilma, and the others, didn't do that, and that leads us here.

The goals for each side are simple. Vilma wants to play football, and he wants to maintain his reputation. Goodell wants to make an example of the league's latest (alleged) atrocity.

Talks between the two sides will continue Monday, according to ESPN. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, and how these discussions impact the futures of Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis, Scott Fujita, Will Smith and Anthony Hargrove.

Make sure you stay tuned as "Bountygate" continues to sort itself out.