Count New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott and former defensive lineman Trevor Pryce among the contingent that didn't find Friday's revelation of the New Orleans Saints' "pay for performance" scandal to be particularly eye-brow rising.
"It's pretty much standard operating procedure," Pryce told The New York Times. "It made our special teams better. I know dudes who doubled their salary from it. Trust me, it happens in some form in any locker room. It's like a democracy, the inmates governing themselves."
Pryce, a former starter with the Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens and Jets detailed a system in Denver in which he once paid a teammate $1,000 after he forced a fumble on a kickoff and in which players would openly discuss payouts for specific plays in the locker room before games.
Pryce told the Times that he doesn't remembered any instance in which a player received money for injuring a player.
"That stuff is all said in jest, in a tongue-in-cheek way. It's like betting on the sun not coming up," said Pryce, who's now retired after 14 seasons in the NFL. "It's not like the Saints are playing against Holy Trinity College. They're playing against other NFL players. I don't think teams really mean it that way. Now, a big hit is different. Getting rewarded for a big hit, they do that in college. You get a sticker on your helmet."
Scott, a 10-year veteran, said emphasizing big hits is a typical part of any defensive game plan and doesn't necessarily mean teams are taking cheap shots, using the New York Giants' Super Bowl strategy against Tom Brady as an example.
"You can't just read the words, you have to know the intent," Scott told the Times. "Knocking someone out doesn't mean you're doing something dirty. It's no different than when the Detroit Pistons played Michael Jordan and every time he went to the hole, they were physical with him. No one was literally trying to hurt him.
"To a certain extent, the league could investigate every team and find the same exact stuff."
