Cris Carter Has Different Idea Than NFL When It Comes To 'Bounties'

Former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Cris Carter turned some heads when he started telling stories of his teammates putting bounties on people when he played in the NFL. After all, the Vikings were one of the teams at the heart of the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal that saw a bunch of players suspended, draft picks taken away and more than one coach reprimanded.

Of course, there is a difference in the stories of the New Orleans bounties and the bounties that Carter brought up. In his case, the bounties were simply to protect himself and his teammates from injury. ESPN's Kevin Seifert sees a big distinction.

"It wasn't to maim or hurt the dude," Carter said. "When a guy said he was going to hurt me, my recourse was to put a bounty on him to make sure."

Maybe it's semantics, but paying an offensive lineman to give Romanowski an extra shove is a lot different than, say, offering money to knock a starting quarterback out of a playoff game. Carry on.

There is quite a difference there, yes. Carter might have overblown the idea of putting a bounty on another player just to downplay what the Saints did. If Carter and his teammates never meant to hurt anyone, the two different bounty stories are, indeed, pretty much exact opposites.

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Saints Bounty Program: Cris Carter Admits To Putting Out Bounties On Opponents During His Career

In the wake of the New Orleans Saints' bounty scandal -- which has Minnesota Vikings' players happy with the respective punishments and the Vikings even releasing a player involved -- one of the biggest names in Vikings history has come forward and admitted to using bounties in his playing career.

Cris Carter took to the radio airwaves to talk about bounties that he used throughout his career, including his time as an All-Pro receiver with the Vikings.

"I’m guilty of it," Carter said. "It’s the first time I’ve ever admitted it. But I put a bounty on guys before. I put bounties on guys. And the guys tried to take me out, a guy tried to take a cheap shot on me, I put a bounty on him, right now."

"A money bounty?" Mark Schlereth asked.

"Absolutely," Carter said.

"Protect me. . . . Protect me from him. . . . Especially if he’s playing a different position where I can’t protect myself," Carter said. "I’d tell one of them guards, ‘Hey man, this dude is after me, man. Bill Romanowski.’ He told me he’s gonna me out before the game, in warmups. No problem. ‘I’m gonna end your career, Carter.’ No problem. I put a little change on his head before the game. Protect myself, protect my family. That’s the league that I grew up in."

Carter also said that bounties were used to protect players like Randy Moss, Daunte Culpepper and Randall Cunningham.

Of course, Carter is not the only one and he expresses zero regrets because he said it was 'part of the game.' It's clear the bounties have a much richer history than the 2009-2011 Saints, but the NFL hopes to set an example so this doesn't continue to be an issue henceforth.

It'll be interesting to see if the Vikings respond to Carter's admission given that they have been outspokenly positive about the NFL's initiative against the bounties of late.

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Vikings Players Pleased With 'Bounty' Punishments, According To Report

Members of the 2009 Minnesota Vikings -- who lost to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC title game -- are please with the punishments handed down in the New Orleans Saints bounty saga, according to the Grand Forks Herald.

The punishments were unprecedented in league history: Head coach Sean Payton was suspended without pay for the entire 2012 season, while the defensive coordinator who was directly involved with the bounties, Gregg Williams, has been banned indefinitely.

Vikings defensive end Jared Allen is reported to have said,

"...We all play hard. But to give bonuses for carting someone off the field? Man, that's just wrong. There's no place for that in the NFL, and I think it's now safe to say you won't be hearing about bounties in the NFL ever again."

Added D-end Brian Robinson,

"It shows everyone that [commissioner Roger] Goodell is definitely serious about player safety," defensive end Brian Robison said. "It's a tough league, but what [the Saints] did was messing with health and livelihood of guys. Goodell doesn't want to deal with this again. So he had to make an example of the Saints."

The Grand Forks article points out that former Vikings head coach Brad Childress complained to the league about possible late hits following the Vikings' loss to New Orleans.

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Saints Bounty Program: Minnesota Vikings Release NT Remi Ayodele

The Minnesota Vikings have released nose tackle Remi Ayodele as he awaits punishment for his involvement in the New Orleans Saints bounty program. Via the official Minnesota Vikings twitter account:

#Vikings have terminated the contract of NT Remi Ayodele.

— Minnesota Vikings (@VikingsFootball) March 21, 2012

The NFL announced the punishment of the coaches and management involved in the scandal, but Commissioner Roger Goodell is holding off on disciplining the players as of now. Ayodele played for the Saints from 2008-2010. He was involved in what should have been an illegal hit that injured Brett Favre in the 2009 NFC Championship Game.

In 2011, the Vikings paid Ayodele a signing bonus of $3.56 million and a base salary of $685 thousand, according to Kevin Seifert of ESPN's NFC North Blog. Ayodele made just 15 tackles for Minnesota last season.

For more on the Minnesota Vikings, go to Daily Norseman. You can also get all of your professional football news over at SB Nation's NFL hub.

Brett Favre Listed As Target In Saints Bounty Scheme

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New Orleans Saints Bounties: Did They Cost The Vikings The 2009 NFC Championship Game?

The recent developments about the New Orleans Saints offering cash bounties to take players out of games have a lot of people revisiting the 2009 NFC Championship Game. But with or without the bounties, the Minnesota Vikings still have nobody to blame but themselves for that loss.

New Orleans Saints Bounty Program: Minnesota Vikings Have No Comment

Check out all the details of the investigation here. Visit SB Nation's Saints blog, Canal Street Chronicles. For more on the Minnesota Vikings, head to The Daily Norseman.