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“I’m guilty of it,” Carter said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever admitted it. But I put a bounty on guys before. I put bounties on guys. And the guys tried to take me out, a guy tried to take a cheap shot on me, I put a bounty on him, right now.”

“A money bounty?” Mark Schlereth asked.

“Absolutely,” Carter said.

“Protect me. . . . Protect me from him. . . . Especially if he’s playing a different position where I can’t protect myself,” Carter said. “I’d tell one of them guards, ‘Hey man, this dude is after me, man. Bill Romanowski.’ He told me he’s gonna me out before the game, in warmups. No problem. ‘I’m gonna end your career, Carter.’ No problem. I put a little change on his head before the game. Protect myself, protect my family. That’s the league that I grew up in.”

Asked whether he was the only one to do that, Carter was emphatic: “Heck no!”

Carter added that he has no regrets. “Matter of fact, if I see a couple of them dudes that was trying to cheap shot me walking through ESPN, I’d put a bounty on them right now.”

Carter explained that the bounty was “based on protection or big hit, excitement or helping your team win, it wasn’t to maim or hurt the dude.” And that sounds a lot like how the Saints would explain the use of bounties from 2009 through 2011, if any of them were to admit to it and/or if there were evidence of it.

Carter also said that he was in the Eagles locker room for the 1989 Bounty Bowl, and that he was present when former Eagles coach Buddy Ryan “put the bounties on the guys.” Carter said he disregarded those types of bounties, but other players didn’t. “I saw guys getting wiped out, guys going for the money,” Carter said.

Later in the interview, Carter said that bounties also were used by the Vikings to protect players like Randy Moss, Daunte Culpepper, and Randall Cunningham.

Carter’s remarks generally support the notion that bounties have indeed been part of the game for a long time before the Saints were caught using them. But the league has shown no inclination to look any deeper into history than the 2009 through 2011 Saints — probably because the league realizes that the rabbit hole runs far deeper than anyone realizes.

And so the NFL instead has opted to make an example of the Saints and to hope that, moving forward, no one “puts a little change” on anyone’s head before a game. Or during a game. Or ever.

Cris Carter admits to using bounties during his career | ProFootballTalk

MistaBigXXL

The perfect article.

You have an OG saying that he personally participated in a bounty program (offered money) and says that it is the norm in many locker rooms throughout the country. But the NFL doesnt want to admit that it is as widespread as it actually is, and thus the Saints will be the scapegoat for the league. Not cool.

lumm0x

Thanks for manning up Cris! It's nice to see some guys show their balls and give the league the finger. We're taking this hit for men like you not the hypocrites that gasp at the atrocity and hide behind their ignorance.

Beastmode

So we have pay for performace, pay for protection, but still no actual bounty participants...I see why Goodell got so frustrated and dropped a nuke on the Saints.

gandhi1007

Cris Carter has always been one of my favorite players. This just makes me like the guy more.

P.S.- This guy should be in the Hall of Fame, damnit!!!

SaintsRule11

Truly maddening that my beloved Saints are the ones being made an example of when this **** is endemic throughout the league. Pisses me right the **** off. I hate Roger Goodell and I hope he gets cancer and dies a slow, painful death.

jeanpierre

So it's okay for Chris Carter to have bounties, but he doesn't like it when the Saints have 'em...

He fits into ESPN perfectly...

Rugby Saint II

The league is beginning to get nervous. We are being vindicated a little at a time.

xan

I am not sure what CC's point is. If I were him, I'd have kept my mouth shut, because all he's done is blur what is already an ill-defined line.

His justification for putting a bounty on a player is "self defense." That's ok, to put a hit on someone who's going to hit you because he's supposed to, but it's not ok to put a hit on someone who's supposed to be hit.

I'm already twisted in my underwear trying to figure this out.

RaginCajun83

bill romanowski was on Dan Patrick later in the morning saying this was false. He did go on to say that Ronnie Lott once paid him 500 for a sack