Saints Bounty Scandal

In early March, the NFL punished several New Orleans Saints coaches and players over what are known as “bounties.” Bounties are pledges to pay a certain amount of money to players who target and knock opposing players out of the game. The NFL alleged that the Saints had not only been offering bounties to their players, they had been doing so for years and been told to stop. Two questions stand out in response to the punishments: was there enough evidence to warrant punishment and were they too harsh?

The Saints lose their Defensive Coordinator, Gregg Williams, indefinitely. Their Head Coach, Sean Payton, and starting Linebacker, Jonathan Vilma, were both suspended for a year. The Saints selected Joe Vitt to serve as Interim Head Coach. He was suspended for six months for his alleged role in the scandal. A couple of other players were fined and suspended for shorter periods as well. Suspensions also mean that the players and coaches involved lose their salary for the length of the punishment. In Williams, Payton, and Vilma’s case, they lose their entire 2012 salaries.

These punishments are harsh, but is there evidence to support it? Williams was caught, on camera, giving a pre-game talk before a playoff game in which he mentioned several opposing players, ways to knock them out of the game, and said “the first one is on me” while rubbing his fingers in a way as to indicate he would pay. Payton, as the Head Coach, is ultimately responsible for all activities involving the team, and evidence shows he knew about these activities and that he knew the NFL was watching. Players had also been caught on film celebrating an opposing player being knocked out of a game, with a player (alleged to be Anthony Hargrove) shouting “give me my money.” 

The problem for the Saints is two-fold: 1) they knew they were being watched for these activities and continued to do them and 2) the NFL is facing serious medical and financial issues due to injuries, especially concussions. Bounties have been a part of the NFL game for decades. Buddy Ryan of the Eagles famously offered a bounty on Cowboy Kicker Tony Zendejas during the 1980s. The Saints did it at the worst possible time.

Are the punishments too harsh? For Payton and Williams, the answer is no. They not only decide on team strategy but who has a job as a player. The players fall in line with the coaches or they move on. Many of the players stated their surprise at Williams’ speech, but it was their job to follow orders. The defense was known, particularly in the 2010 NFC Championship Game, to hit a targeted player late, causing injury. This is the same game when the player was heard to reference his payment for the hit. The players knew better, but got sucked up into a culture that encouraged them to do this, and they have been appropriately punished for doing so.