Roger Goodell asks NFL owners to certify no bounties are in place

In a memo to all NFL teams Wednesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell instructed every owner to meet with his head coach and “confirm that the club does not operate a similar pay-for-performance or bounty program and to instruct his coach that no such program is permissible and that if such a program exists, it must be terminated immediately.”

Each owner and coach must certify in writing to the commissioner by March 30 that no such program exists.

“Bounty programs have no place in our game,” Goodell said in a statement. “They are incompatible with our efforts to promote sportsmanship, fair play, and player safety.”

Going forward, Goodell said, the annual certifications required of each club under the league’s “Integrity of the Game Policy” will be modified to include specific references to bounties and pay-for-performance programs. The prohibition on pay-for-performance programs includes not just “bounties” but any form of non-contract bonus payment. Owners and head coaches share the responsibility for ensuring adherence to these rules and for promoting player safety and the integrity of the game, the league said.

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