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Jonathan Vilma put a $10,000 bounty on Brett Favre, and other Gregg Williams-related bounty news

I wonder what the bounty on Larry Johnson was for this game (Photo: one4theotherthumb.com)

Today, the NFL announced that the New Orleans Saints were engaged in a “pay-for-performance” system from 2009-2011, including bounty payments for injuries to opposing players. 

According to a league memo, 22 to 27 Saints players participated in the program that was administered by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams (now with the St. Louis Rams), and with the knowledge of head coach Sean Payton. Apparently, during their recent championship run, the Saints had specific payments of $1,500 for “knockouts” and $1,000″ for “cart-offs”, with escalating payments for playoff games. Sometimes, the incentives for less violent plays like interceptions or touchdowns, but the bounties occasionally came with specific targets attached to them, like Kurt Warner and Brett Favre.

The other big name at the center of all this is linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who reportedly plunked $10,000 on a table prior to the 2009 NFC Championship game versus the Minnesota Vikings, saying “this goes to the guy who knocks out Brett Favre”. 

And while it may not come as a surprise to many in the game that bounties like this still exist, this is going to be an absolute nightmare for the Saints, and particularly Williams, who reportedly ran a similar bounty program during his time the Redskins defensive coordinator, from 2004-2007.  For his part, Williams issued a lame apology, that rings wildly hollow when you realize that Williams has been guilty of this practice for no less than seven years, and probably with every team he’s coache with in the league:

“I want to express my sincere regret and apology to the NFL, Mr. Benson, and the New Orleans Saints fans for my participation in the ‘pay for performance’ program while I was with the Saints,” Williams said. “It was a terrible mistake, and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it. Instead of getting caught up in it, I should have stopped it. I take full responsibility for my role. I am truly sorry. I have learned a hard lesson and I guarantee that I will never participate in or allow this kind of activity to happen again.”

Yeah, good luck with that Gregg. It’s no secret around the league that Williams has had some questionable coaching tactics, and with the league’s increasing effort to decrease injuries in the game, this whole bounty thing isn’t exactly the look Roger Goodell was going for. Knowing Goodell, the hammer is going to come down on both the Saints and Williams, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see Williams suspended for a long time – if not banned from the game for life – to make an example out of him.

One thing’s for sure: this is an unqualified bombshell, on par with the Patriots’ Spygate, and could quickly turn into the story of the NFL’s off-season. Williams has been a coach in the league with no less than six teams over the last twenty years, so look for even more tales of similar pay-for-performance programs to emerge, indicting even more of the NFL’s Boba Fetts.