NFL: New Orleans Saints' Super Bowl winning head coach Sean Payton has been suspended for a year without pay by the NFL after an investigation into 'bounty' schemes rewarding players for hurting opponents.
Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was also suspended indefinitely while the team was fined $500,000 (€378,00) and will forfeit their selections in the second round of the 2012 and 2013 NFL drafts, the league said in a statement.
Saints general manager Mickey Loomis was suspended without pay for the first eight games of the upcoming regular season while assistant head coach Joe Vitt was suspended for six games.
The league said they had yet to decide on punishments for players involved in the scheme.
According to the league's findings, Williams collected money from players throughout the season, to be paid out as a reward for 'big hits' and plays which took opponents out of the game.
Williams, now with the St. Louis Rams, was the central figure in the bounty system, according to the NFL's investigation.