It's really just a salary cap violation
 

I understand that the term "bounty" makes things sound worse than they are but in reality this is really just a salary cap violation.
here's how the league handled it before. CNNSI.com - NFL Football - SI's King: 49ers fined for salary cap violations - Friday December 01, 2000 06:38 PM
Players received illegal bonus money.
That being said, tens of thousands compared to hundreds of thousands...
there's no way this thing even come close to what the niners did cost wise.
IMO it's impossible to prove intent in regards to the hits.
Doing do would open up Pandora's box.
we'll get a hit for what the league will determine is their version of "lack of institutional control" but besides that I don't really see were they have a standing to impose harsh penalties like the media predicts.
If so, then this is really just a vendetta.

If the players contribute themselves ... is it still a cap violation? ... Vilma put up $10,000 allegedly.

Nope... That just makes it a friendly loan. All anyone has to say is they they have yet to pay it back...


Pay backs are a #%&!

Players and maybe some coaches put into the pot NOT THE TEAM. So it has NOTHING to do with cap numbers.

This is essentially an office pool run amok.

Although after reviewing the NFL rule on this EVERY player in the NFL is guilty of this because you can't not run this 'incentive program'. Not even for INT's or fumbles. Its all illegal.

I'd not say "illegal" because there is no federal, state, or local law prohibiting this kind of reward system. This is simply a violation of league policy. It is certainly not gambling, because this is a performance based pool with no guaranteed payout beyond the performance which would be outside the participants' control.

Has anyone actually SEEN proof that there was a contract/conspiracy to inflict physical harm and an actual PAYOUT based on that harm?

Or is this conjecture based on someone's casual and imprecise use of the term "bounty" for the pool itself?

THANK YOU

What is really happening is that they are using the cap violation as a "gotcha" way of cracking down on the practice. I mean $100 or $500 for an interception is pretty ridiculous in terms of a player's salary or the cap, but it's a "gotcha" moment and that is the rule that can be enforced to throw the book at the organization as well as the players. And it was wrong to do it, and people need to wrap their heads around that. It has Gregg Williams' fingerprints all over it and that needs to be acknowledged as well.

The OTHER issue is that Payton and Loomis were apparently told to stop it, and allegedly did not...that is a different separate issue and will be dealt with differently. Don't be surprised if the penalties/fines/suspensions are handed down in different "groups" at different times over a period of weeks or months, instead of all at once.

No but if you have such a plan to pay out to someone money to hurt or harm someone... that is illegal in every state in America.

unless someone kept a book on all the cash in the bounty program its all hearsay which should be throw out if this goes to court. so its all about 1 person that said the word bounty and all hell breaks loose? you will hear about this i'm sure in the snitch's book that will be out when this blows over. remember jose consaco.

One person?

I think you have the definition wrong on what hearsay means. Hearsay is when I say that you told me something... that can't go into court but if I say you did something that can go to court because I am a witness. This so called snitch is a witness.

There are several people who admitted. 2 Coaches, a GM have already apologized and ADMITTED it happened. That isn't hearsay. Also players have come out now and said they contributed to the fund.

There's no dispute on the fund itself, just the conditions of payout. It would be dishonest to label the pool an "injury bounty pool" if that were, in fact NOT a condition of participation. So far, no evidence has been presented on the injury side, just the "play of the game" side.

Just because some pundit makes an inference based on NO INFORMATION OR FACT, simply because the term "bounty" has been used, doesn't make the situation illegal or immoral.

If only it were a salary cap violation?

LOL XAN, you are taking the denial approach still?

Yes there is evidence they have e-mails even of details about it and documents. As well as players and coaches accepting the blame for it. It indeed happened, my friend.

The only question anyone really has is who accepted money's for someone getting hurt. I don't think there was anyone who collected a reward for that. I mean there was no principal player hurt / I should clarify, 'taken out of a game' or by cart. Except for Warner who left the game but returned.

Also the fact that no one is denying that Vilma went into the locker room with 10K to take out Farve. Just that alone is a violation of the rule.

All I'm saying is let's see what the evidence is. I have no reason to believe or not believe. I've scanned for 4 days looking for "facts" and all that I've seen is the NFL's preliminary statement. If it were conclusive and irrefutable, then punishment would have been meted already. Since punishment has not, then there is clearly some dispute of fact.

I think that the NFL actually got the tapes of the Patriots cheating. If you're going to impose that scale of punishment on the Saints, the staff and the players, then I'd like to see that level of evidence presented. Even then, it would be necessary to correlate the program to illegal hits intentionally inflicted outside the rules of the game and whether there was statistically any more of those incidents relative to other teams and players.

This is not a black and gold problem. These guys are already rewarded for violence and mayhem inflicted on opponents. It's celebrated daily on every sports channel, even lionized by peers. In order to mete severe punishment, there has to be clear relationship between the "bounty" program and illicit play. Existence of the program, while not within NFL policy, does not straightline into immoral behavior, given the context of the game itself.

Obviously there should be consequences. I am in favor of appropriate punishment relative to the actual infractions, not the imaginings of the hypocritically offended followers of the NFL.

Like to listen to Bobby H. and he was saying and I agree the league would more or less look at it as an incentive for a competitive advantage. A violation of NFL rules. Either way safe to say that Williams will probably be suspended for a year so glad he is already gone. We could see Payton, Loomis or both having to sit out. For me Loomis is no big deal he could stay in the office and never be on the field anyway. Coach has a great offensive mind and this is where Brees running this would be the key to maintaining until he got back. At any rate lets have the verdict so this can be put behind us we know it is comming.