The New Orleans Saints were found to have implemented a bounty system where players received bonuses for, among other things, hard hits and deliberate injuries to opposing players. The system was in place from 2009 – the season the Saints won the Super Bowl – until 2011, and between 22 and 27 Saints players participated in the program.
On March 2, 2012, the NFL announced the results of its investigation, saying the players and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams had pooled their money to pay the bonuses over three seasons. The league also found that head coach Sean Payton knew about the bounty system and, although not directly involved in it, did nothing to stop it. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis was ordered by owner Tom Benson to shut down the program, but he failed to do so.
Since the NFL revealed its findings, Williams has been accused of running similar bounty schemes during his coaching stints with the Titans, Redskins and Bills.
The NFL imposed sanctions for the bonuses on March 21, 2012. Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for one year without pay, effective April 1. General manager Mickey Loomis was suspended without pay for the first eight regular season games of 2012. Saints assistant Joe Vitt was suspended for the first six games of 2012.
Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, currently with the Rams, has been suspended indefinitely, effective immediately. His status will be re-evaluated by commissioner Roger Goodell after the 2012 season.
Additionally, the Saints franchise was fined $500,000 and excluded from second-round picks in the 2012 and 2013 drafts. The league has not yet announced any disciplinary action to the against the players involved.
The Saints appealed the suspensions of Payton, Loomis and Vitt, but the NFL upheld the suspensions. The appeal delayed the start of Payton’s suspension from April 1 to April 16.
On May 2, the league announced the suspension of four players for their leadership role in the bounty system. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma was suspended for the entire 2012 season, DL Anthony Hargrove was suspended for eight games, Will Smith for four and Scott Fujita for three. Fujita and Hargrove had left the Saints by the time the suspensions were issued. The players’ suspensions were overturned on technical grounds by an arbitration panel on September 7, 2012, just two days before the Saints’ season opener. After restarting the disciplinary process, Goodell upheld the suspensions of Vilma and Smith and reduced the suspensions of Fujita and Hargrove to one and seven games respectively.
