Brad Childress denies Minnesota Vikings had bounty system

A former Minnesota Vikings player said the team had a bounty system in the past, but former head coach Brad Childress has roundly denied it.

Excerpts from Gunslinger, the Jeff Pearlman penned biography about Brett Favre, have been coming fast and furious. One particular nugget from former Minnesota Vikings’ offensive lineman Artis Hicks, looking back on the targeting of Favre by the New Orleans Saints during the 2010 NFC Championship Game and the ensuing “Bounty Gate,” has made some news.

Via an excerpt from Pearlman’s book, published by Deadspin, here’s what Hicks had to say about a Vikings’ bounty system during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

"“It was part of the culture,” Hicks said, according to an excerpt published by Deadspin. “I had coaches start a pot and all the veterans put in an extra $100, $200, and if you hurt someone special, you get the money.”"

Brad Childress, who was head coach of the Vikings from 2006-2011, has denied Hicks’ claims.

"“I had a great opportunity to coach a lot of great people there, including Artis Hicks, at the Minnesota Vikings. I have too much respect for the Wilf family [and] professional football to have anything to do with a bounty system. I’m going to let it stand at that.”"

Former Vikings’ linebacker Ben Leber took to Twitter to also deny the existence of a bounty system.

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Cash rewards for big plays and big hits are surely prevalent in NFL locker rooms, as Leber insinuated, but it’s naive to think those things don’t extend to injuring key opposing players when it may be deemed appropriate. A round of public denials should be expected, but the Vikings were hardly the first and they were surely not the last NFL team to have a bounty system if they did have one.