remove the helmets and pads and let them play football the way we did back in the day...there would be less injuries...well, maybe....IDK...

Is this when they changed the helmets from triceratops hide to leather?

I was a linebacker in college and if you told me I would get a bonus for injuring or hurting certain players on another team, you better believe I would try a lot harder to level them. I know that I was both young and stupid.

If you think spying on another team is worse than trying to injure someone, I don't know what to say about that...

Right, and in college you were not already making millions of dollars to play.

But just for fun... if you were making $10k per year working part time while in school, the equivalent of the $5.6 million Vilma being offered $10k, would be you being offered $17. Also, keep in mind $10k seems to be far more than the standard payment -- that was for knocking out the legendary Brett Favre in the NFC Championship.

Bob, not every NFL player makes millions of dollars. The majority make 6 six figures, which is excellent money to most people, but after taxes, expenses and fees to agents, your every day player doesn't make the big bucks. I would wager that an extra couple of thousand dollars would motivate most defenisve players in the NFL.

Cedric Maxwell On Bounties: ‘We Did It In The NBA’
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/03/05/cedric-maxwell-on-bounties-we-did-it-in-the-nba/

Goodell should give Harrison his money back. He was just playing as his position warrants. I'm sure Mr. Rooney wouldn't put no bounty on another player's head.

Speaking of the Saints, seems they slapped the franchise title on Drew Breeze and he is not a happy camper and says he will not sign it

Would this be the seventh thing a rich person should not say?

Wonder if someone is getting extra cash for slapping Brees.

The league minimum for a rookie is nearly $300,000. If you spend 3 years in the league, with the way the minimums work, you are guaranteed to make over $1 million. The average salary is about $2 million per year and the median is about $800,000. So yes, these guys end up making millions of dollars. Don't forget about their pensions too!

Furthermore, with a 52 man roster and 11 on each side (plus special teams), most guys on the roster don't get significant playing time so the opportunity is greatly skewed to the higher priced million+ per year players.

The largest bounty we heard of so far was $10k and that was offered to a guy making $5.6 mil in the NFC Championship game.

Fact of the matter is, the guys get paid to make big hits already -- if they continue to make big hits and have an impact they get a bigger contract.

You getting offered $10k in college, when you are not paid to play (or not supposed to be at least lol), does not compare to someone already being paid very handsomely to play.

With the franchise tag slapped on Brees, he doesn't have the right to turn it down...they must pay him $14.4mm this season, and he must accept it. And if they franchise him next year it jumps to $19.2MM and if they do it a 3rd year it jumps to around $26mm...

Bob I played against a couple of pro players. Perhaps you heard of Amos Zereoue? He had a few good years with the Steelers and was a serviceable enough back up. He played 7 years in the NFL and from when I last spoke to him, he is not a multi millionaire. I think you're assuming a bit too much about what these guys actually pocket after all of the fees and expenses they have as NFL players. Full disclosure, I don't exactly have access to his bank statements.

I also think you’re underestimating the greed factor that many athletes demonstrate time and time again.

Reports are that he's "livid". He could hold out and force their hand. If they got hid hard with lost draft picks, he'd have some leverage (And if they REALLY got hit hard--enough to hurt their competitiveness for the next couple years--it might make him reconsider whether he even wants to stay).

But they've got until mid-summer to keep negotiating (and for Brees to get over it). Just because they franchised him doesn't mean they cant still work on a long-term deal. I doubt he'll end up anywhere else.

A few years ago, the average lifespan for an NFL player was 4 years....would imagine it's still pretty similar.

I was thinking the same thing Tex. The Saints won't make the playoffs without him. I think they have no choice but to work out a long term deal with Brees.

Maybe they could sign Peyton.

I remember famous Amos... I did a quick google and up popped this article from 2002 -- which is 10 years ago, not the same money players are paid today...

http://www.post-gazette.com/steelers/20020614snoter4.asp
"Yesterday, with a clean bill of health, he signed a new contract that will pay him $8.8 million over the next four years, including $2,839,000 this year."

So yes, Amos did make millions for playing football... 10 years ago...

Bob as a banker, you know he did not get that entire $8.8 million. I have said that three times already. Just like we don't make our entire salary, he did not see that entire lump sum.

I understand that ACB. YOu are looking at the wrong point. The contract was signed in 2002, he played 2 years under it. His first year salary was $2.8 million. Don't even consider any other year he played, just his 2002 season he is already made "millions" in his career.

This is getting away from the topic/point though... fact is these guys make ALOT of money, money exchanged here is not breaking the bank and is far different than an amateur college player being paid the same amount of cash...

I understand what you're saying Bob. I just don't think we will agree on it.

Let me ask you this though. If money isn't important to these guys, why did Pac Man Jones start a shoot out over 30 or 40 grand? Why even put a bounty system in place? What good would it do if 10 grand didn't matter? Or even 1 or 2 thousand?

While I agree with you in that they will have a lot more money than most people ever will, I still think their greed for even more is a big motivating factor.

1989 Thanksgiving Classic game in Dallas was most noted for allegations that the Philadelphia Eagles put a $200 bounty on Dallas Cowboys kicker Luis Zendejas

I do not think money is an issue when in 1989 a bounty was only $200.

A clean, legal hit is one thing, but why would a player risk a huge fine over a $1000 - $2000 bounty for the possibility of getting called on a cheap shot or unnecessary roughness?

'Cause they're not that bright?