New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson meets with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell - NFL News
The National Football League (NFL) is getting closer to reaching a decision over the New Orleans Saints’ bounty scandal as the franchise’s top brass met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in New York.
It is expected that the NFL will hand out its most severe punishment of the current commissioner’s tenure to the Saints.
A spokesperson for the franchise confirmed the meeting between Goodell and franchise owner, Tom Benson, while head coach, Sean Payton, was also present during the talks.
The allegations on the Saints are even worse than those placed on the New England Patriots during 2007-08 regular season for illegally spying on opponents.
The Patriots were heavily fined for the affair with the franchise having to pay $250,000 while head coach, Bill Belichick, was also fined $500,000 for his role in the affair.
New England also lost its first-round draft pick in that year’s draft.
However, these fines are expected to pale in comparison to those New Orleans would receive for running their illegal bounty programme for three years.
The Saints are alleged to have maintained a $50,000 pool that paid players varying amounts according to the plays they made.
It was alleged in the NFL report that the players were paid around $1000-1500 for injuring specific opponents with almost 22-27 players on the roster involved in the illegal scheme which took place with the connivance of the then defensive coordinator, Gregg
Williams.
Both head coach, Sean Payton, and general manager, Mickey Loomis, were involved in the affair giving it their silent approval.
The NFL is expected to heavily fine the Saints while also suspending players and coaches involved in the scheme. It is also expected that New Orleans will lose many of their picks in the upcoming drafts.
NFL.com insider Jason LaCanfora believes that a decision could be made by the end of this week and that the latest meeting could be a briefing on the upcoming punishments that New Orleans will have to face.
It is essential for the league to stamp its authority on this matter so that such activities which put the players’ health and safety at risk could be avoided.
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