Everyone knew that when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell dealt down his punishments for the Saints’ bounty programs, they would be harsh. So far, it has resulted in a suspension for head coach, Sean Payton, for the entire 2012-2013 season; a suspension for general manager, Mickey Loomis; an indefinite suspension for defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams; two second-round draft picks; and a fine of $500,000. But Goodell isn’t done. He wants even more people to pay, and it’s left the hands of the Saints tied tighter than ever.

The Commissioner also wants to find and fine the approximately 24 defensive players that were involved in accepting the bounties for “particularly unusual and egregious” and “totally unacceptable” hits on players of opposing teams. One of those players who will not be called into question is quarterback, Drew Brees. And now it seems, the New Orleans Saints might have to give him whatever he’s asking for.

Brees’ contract is up, and he can’t sign with another team due to the franchise tag the Saints have on him. In exchange for that tag, Brees gets a guaranteed $15-$16 million per year. Brees wants to earn $23 million, but the Saints came back with $18 million. That puts them at a standstill, with the scales tipping in the direction of the Saints‘ favor. But that was before the Commissioner showed that he wasn’t joking around with his bounty discipline. Now, the Saints are in a bit of a tougher spot.

Brees is exactly what this team needs right now to pull them together as a unit, and bring some sanity to an insane locker room. He’s inarguably an elite player and is the best chance the Saints have at pulling anything together for the coming season. He can’t leave, but he can decide that he’s just not going to play.

That’s something that the Saints just can’t afford right now; and is probably what will not only balance out the scales of Brees’ coming paycheck, but tip them right over into his bank account.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 26th, 2012 at 12:22 pm and is filed under NFL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.