New Orleans coach Sean Payton has been suspended for the coming NFL season after the Saints were revealed to be paying players illegal bounties.
The franchise s former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was also banned from the sport indefinitely for orchestrating the bounty system among the Saints defensive players, which saw them rewarded for injuring opponents over a three-year period between 2009-2011.
In addition, the Saints were fined US$500,000 and saw their second-round draft picks for 2012 and 2013 stripped.
New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis is suspended for the first eight regular-season games in 2012, while assistant coach Joe Vitt will miss the first six.
We are all accountable and responsible for player health and safety and the integrity of the game, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
We will not tolerate conduct or a culture that undermines those priorities. No one is above the game or the rules that govern it.
When there is targeting of players for injury and cash rewards over a three-year period, the involvement of the coaching staff, and three years of denials and willful disrespect of the rules, a strong and lasting message must be sent that such conduct is totally unacceptable and has no place in the game.
The NFL revealed that the scheme involved up to 27 defensive players and targeted opponents such as marquee quarterbacks Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Kurt Warner.
Members of the New Orleans team were offered US$1,500 for knocking an opposing player out, while a cart-off , which meant a player could not continue the game, saw them earn US$1,000.
The penalties imposed were harsher than expected because Payton had not only tried to cover up his activity, but ignored instructions from the league.
Payton s suspension will cost him approximately $US7.5 million, while Williams who admitted running the program in his time at New Orleans will not receive any of his $US2million salary at his new club, the St Louis Rams.
Williams future in the game will be reviewed at the end of the season.
New Orleans must now decide who will coach the team in Payton s absence, with the new season to start in September.
