Within the last couple of months, we've seen four players, three coaches, and a general manager get suspended due to a "pay for pain" plot that has captured the sports world by storm. Current and former members of the New Orleans Saints have been investigated and were found to have violated the NFL's pay for perfomance rule. As a result, Gregg Williams, current Rams defensive coordinator, has been suspended indefinitely. Sean Payton, current Saints head coach, has been suspended for the season. Four former and current Saints players have suspensions ranging from three games to the entire 2012 season. In a time where player safety has taken the front seat in the NFL, the recent bounty scandal provides perfect examples of what Roger Goodell is trying to correct. The scandal has shown us nothing more than what the NFL has become: a money hungry, take the spotlight, physical, dangerous sport (as much as players may deny this).One may come into the scandal and say that these players know what they are getting themselves into by signing a contract and joining a professional football team. First off, yes, players do know what they are getting themselves into, but not one of these players sign contracts that say, "I give permission for other players to intentionally injure me." To put it in perspective, take the sport of boxing for example. Boxers know what the sport entails. The objective in boxing is to either win by going ten rounds and landing the highest number of punches and big hits or by completely knocking the opponent unconscious with a blow to the head. Boxers know this before they step into the ring. Do you hear of boxers filing lawsuits against their employers citing brain damage? Another example is hockey. Within hockey, there are rules that outline fighting within the game. There are penalties in place for fighting, and within the context of the game, punching and taking an opponent to the ground is acceptable. The difference lies with intent.
In fact, if you want to go deeper, the bounty scandal can be viewed as conspiracy and players involved can be subject to civil lawsuits. These acts can be viewed as intentional torts, which in other terms is an intent to injure another party, whether its financially, physically, or emotionally. There was a situation in the NHL back in 2004, where Todd Bertuzzi, who at the time played for the Vancouver Canucks, attacked Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche as retaliation for a hit that Moore laid earlier in the game. Bertuzzi approached Moore from behind, landed a huge punch to the head, and slammed him to the ice. Every part of the act indicated that there was an intent to injure. Bertuzzi faced one of the longest suspensions in the history of the NHL and was sued in both Colorado and Canada. Moore was forced to retire from the injuries sustained during the attack. It may not have violated any pay for performance rules, but there were on-ice violations and the intent to injure which violates the most basic of human rights. 
The NFL's bounty scandal highlights the state of the league. As Goodell tries to clean up the league, player safety has taken its fair share of criticism. However, Goodell is trying to get football back to its fundamentals. Professional football has grown to become a bunch of athletes looking to make a quick buck by providing highlight-reel, explosive hits trying to make a name for themselves. James Harrison quickly became one of the NFL's most targeted players when it comes to repeatedly breaking NFL policies regarding head to head hits on opposing players and was quoted saying he wasn't trying to injure anybody, but wanted to hurt them. 
In a sense, Goodell has authentic, traditional, blue-collar football in mind when implementing the new policies regarding the types of hits that are now considered illegal. His mission in player safety does have an underlying concern for a loss of revenue to lawsuits and such, but step aside from that notion for a second. We have gotten to the point where players launch themselves headfirst into other players and call it a "tackle." For years, as fans, we have considered this one of the most exciting aspects of football, but is it worth it for all these players to sacrifice skill for one or two big hits a game, and half a dozen missed opportunities? These hits, by the way, are leading cause for brain damage, not for the player on the receiving end, but the giving end, and players wonder why they feel the aftermath later in life. What happened to wrapping up the guy with the ball? In the last few years, the number of missed tackles has increased a substantial amount and this is highlighted here. Offensive numbers have increased as a result. Many games have lost their dramatics due to the fact that offenses can drive down the field at will and score at ease. There is, not excitement, suspense in the games controlled by defenses. The strategy of the game is highlighted more when the defense can control the game because the offense has to do everything in its power to overcome those obstacles, rather than hope for the last possession just to go up 49-48 by the end of regulation. Teams that know how to tackle have consistently ranked in the top 10 in total defense over the last few seasons and it should be no surprise this trend will continue with Goodell as commissioner.
There have been many topics in range with this post, but the hope is that it can help to portray the light at the end of the tunnel for the NFL. The recent bounty scandal only shows the last bit of corruption, the last obstacle to the policies that the NFL is trying to enforce. The scandal is not based on the hits that the players land on the opposition, but rather the intent behind the hits. There is an intent to lay a big hit, injure another player, gain notoriety and fame, and increase fortunes for it. This is what the league has become and this is what the league is trying to stop. The league once provided a place for defensive guys to play with reckless abandon but is now trying to do everything to stop this. They are trying to protect players, but in doing so, they are actually bringing strategy back into the game, something that has been missing for quite some time.
