NFL Brings The Hammer Down On The Saints For Bountygate

The NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell handed out one of the most severe punishments in NFL history on Wednesday in response to the Bountygate scandal involving the New Orleans Saints and former Defensive Coordinator Gary Williams. Allegations surfaced earlier this month over a widespread bounty system that had been employed by Williams during his tenure in New Orleans. Harsh penalties were expected as Goodell has made improving league safety paramount during his reign. However I'm not sure many people could have predicted how hard he would come down.

Williams has been suspended from the league indefinitely and may seriously never coach in the NFL again. The Saints were fined $500,000 and will surrender their 2nd round picks in both 2012 and 2013. The NFL did not stop there however, suspending Saints Head Coach Sean Payton for the entire 2012 season without pay, which will cost him the entirety of his nearly $7.5 Million salary. They also suspended team GM Mickey Loomis for 8 games and assistant coach Joe Vitt for 6.

The Payton suspension was perhaps the most shocking punishment we've seen in decades. The NFL contended that Payton ignored instructions to prevent the placement of bounties and accused Payton for electing to "falsely deny that the program existed" as well as "attempting to encourage the false denials by instructing assistants to 'make sure our ducks are in a row.'" The Saints are now forced to find an interim replacement for Payton for this upcoming season and may be profoundly impacted by his suspension. I don't think I've ever quite seen something like this in my lifetime. I don't even know what else to say about the situation and it will be incredibly interesting to see how this affects the Saints organization and the league as a whole. Payton and the Saints had been seen as the darlings of the NFL ever since New Orleans was decimated by Hurricane Katrina. How will their legacy be viewed in the future?