Saints were rewarded for knockouts and 'cart-offs' The most celebrated era in New Orleans Saints history is suddenly tarnished by scandal. Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and players maintained a bounty pool of as much as $50,000 over the last three seasons to award New Orleans players for delivering game-ending injuries to the opposition, paying bonuses of $1,000 for so-called "cart-offs" and $1,500 for knockouts. The rewards were doubled or tripled during the playoffs, and quarterbacks Brett Favre and Kurt Warner were among the targets. The NFL, which quietly conducted a lengthy investigation of the arrangement, said the pool amounts reached their height in 2009, the season the Saints won the Super Bowl. According to the league, between 22 and 27 defensive players participated in the program, which was administered by Williams with the knowledge of Coach Sean Payton. The report said the players regularly contributed cash into a pool and received payments from it based on their play in the previous week's game. Payments were made for injuring opponents in addition to big defensive plays such as interceptions and fumble recoveries. "The payments here are particularly troubling because they involved not just payments for 'performance,' but also for injuring opposing players," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a written statement. It is our responsibility to protect player safety and the integrity of our game, and this type of conduct will not be tolerated. The findings could lead to fines, suspensions and possibly the loss of draft choices for the Saints. Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott delivered an inspirational speech to the Saints before they played Favre's Minnesota Vikings in the 2009 NFC championship game. He said he knew nothing of a bounty program, but said cash rewards for big plays were commonplace when he played in the 1980s and '90s, akin to a college player getting a sticker for his helmet. "But 'cart-offs,' when you hear that kind of language, if that's the kind of language that's a part of it, then to me that's a no-no," Lott said in a phone interview. I knocked out my share of players, but I was doing that because there were guys like [Dick] Butkus, [Ray] Nitschke and [Jack] Tatum, me wanting to be like them and play the game. But all I can I tell you is ... when I knocked a player out, my intentions were always, 'Is he OK?' That's the difference. Not only is paying players to injure opponents an affront to the league's push for player safety, but also it circumvents the salary cap. League rules prohibit non-contract bonuses that "may directly or indirectly be offered, promised, announced, or paid to a player for his team's performance against a particular team or opposing player." Williams, hired as defensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams in January, apologized Friday to the league, Saints owner Tom Benson, and the team's fans. "It was a terrible mistake, and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it," Williams said. Instead of getting caught up in it, I should have stopped it. There was no comment from Payton. The league began its investigation in 2010 following an allegation that Warner and Favre had been targeted in playoff games. Saints players initially denied the existence of a bounty program, and the player who made the initial allegation recanted. The investigation was reopened in the latter part of the 2011 season, Goodell said, when the league "received significant and credible new information." The NFL absolved Benson of any blame, saying that when the owner was apprised of the bounty program he told General Manager Mickey Loomis to discontinue it immediately. But the report said Loomis did not stop the program and, when asked about it in 2010, denied any knowledge of it. Although the report said Payton was not a direct participant in the funding or administration of the program, "he was aware of the allegations, did not make any detailed inquiry or otherwise seek to learn the facts, and failed to stop the bounty program. Further, Payton "never instructed his assistant coaches or players that a bounty program was improper and could not continue." Former NFL fullback Lorenzo Neal said he's not at all surprised to learn of a bounty program. Neal, who began his career with the Saints and played for eight teams over 16 seasons, said he has seen similar arrangements all over the league. "When you try to impose your will and try to take a guy out, there's no place for it," Neal said. But there have been pools that guys have been in throughout the league. 'Hey, guys, if you get a knockout block on this dude, I've got $500. If you get a big hit and get the ball loose, I've got $100 on that.' That happens in locker rooms. That happens in team meetings. But if there's an intent to maim or hurt someone, I think it's wrong. ... This game we play is violent. When you watch this game, we're grown men, playing a kid's game, getting a king's ransom. It's a contact sport. He said those payoff pools were usually "intended for guys on special teams, to get them in the game and get them participating. Like, 'I'm going to get in that. I want that big hit. I want that money.' twitter.com/LATimesfarmer