WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) -- New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams reportedly offered bounties for hard hits on opponents while an assistant in Washington, ex-team members said.
An investigation by the National Football League revealed Friday Williams offered cash rewards to Saints players who knocked a particular opponent out of a game, but a former Redskins coach and five players told The Washington Post the same incentives were in place when Williams was coordinator in the District.
"You got compensated more for a kill shot than you did other hits," one former Redskins player, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper.
So-called bounties are prohibited under NFL rules, but the Post said some Washington players made hundreds or thousands of dollars for sending a dazed opposing star off the field.
The league said Friday Williams oversaw a bounty fund in New Orleans from 2009-2011 but did not have any information that the same incentives were in place in Washington in the mid-2000s.
Saints Coach Sean Payton denied any knowledge of the bounties as did Joe Gibbs, who was the Redskins coach at the time, the Post said.
