It was said that the Saints weren’t the only team in NFL circles that were utilizing bounties to incentivize players to put big hits on their opponents, and apparently, they were not.
The Saints were caught and punished by the NFL, which led to repercussions for the organization, as well as head coach Sean Payton and then-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
There hasn’t been much talk about that type of incentive-based compensation system since that time — until this week, that is.
Former Steelers linebacker James Harrison appeared on the “Going Deep” podcast, and he shared an interesting story involving a hit he put on ex-Browns receiver Mohamed Massoquai, and the reaction from head coach Mike Tomlin.
“Listen, everything I love, on my daddy’s grave, I hit that man with about, max, 50 percent of what I had, and I just hit because I wanted him to let loose of the ball,” Harrison began. “If I had known they were going to fine me $75,000, I would have tried to kill him. Dude, I’m telling you, 75?
“I ain’t going to lie to you. When that happened, right? The “G-est” thing Mike Tomlin ever did, he handed me an envelope after that. I ain’t going to say what, but he handed me an envelope after that.”
Hello. @NFL pic.twitter.com/9kqrKWkq2P
— Ken Carman (@KenCarman) May 14, 2020
We’re left to speculate about what’s inside, but it sure looks like Harrison was insinuating it was money, and given that it was a game against a division rival, we wouldn’t be shocked if it were true.
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