The National Football League isn't a sport. It's a business.
The New Orleans Saints have been caught running a bounty program. Saints defensive players were financially rewarded for hurting opponents. There is no way that can be rationalized or justified.
The league is trying to reduce injuries, and it's expected the commissioner will drop the hammer, big time, on the people involved. It's as it should be.
Aggressive players are usually financially rewarded at contract time. Big stars get big money, so, the NFL has had an unofficial bounty program for eons. This is bigger than just the Saints.
The moral of the story: don't get caught.
On a related note, ESPN reported last night that the Indianapolis Colts and quarterback Peyton Manning will part company. Manning sat out the 2011 season with a neck injury. There's evidence to indicate that his recovery is slow, and the Colts are reluctant to shell out big money for a player who might not be able to get the job done.
The Colts owe Peyton Manning a lot. He was their signature star for years, and Manning led the team to a Super Bowl. However, remember the words of Tony Soprano: "We're trying to run a business here." You'll see Peyton Manning in a different uniform this year. I don't like the Irsay family, the bunch that snuck the Colts out of Baltimore in the middle of the night. Here, it sounds like a sound business decision. I'd be reluctant to spend big money to keep Peyton Manning.
