Saints players bounty decision coming soon

Commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL is in the "final stages" of deciding on discipline against players who participated in the Saints' bounty program, but a decision is unlikely to be announced until after this weekend's draft.

"We want to make sure that we complete the work that we started and make sure that we're thorough and fair," Goodell said Wednesday at an NFL Play 60 predraft event in Manhattan. "Once we're done, we'll issue it, but we're probably going to be distracted by the draft in the next couple of days. I don't know how much time I'll have to spend on it . . . If we're done, we'll get it out."

The league already has suspended former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams indefinitely, coach Sean Payton for one year, general manager Mickey Loomis for eight games and associate head coach (and now interim head coach) Joe Vitt for six games. It also levied a series of fines and deprived the franchise of draft picks. In its investigation, the NFL found that as many as 27 players participated in the bounty program, among them former Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma.

Loomis, whose suspension will not begin until the start of the regular season, also is under investigation by the FBI and Louisiana state police for allegedly using electronic equipment to eavesdrop on opposing sidelines at the Superdome. Loomis and the Saints deny those charges, which were first reported by ESPN's "Outside the Lines."

"As I understand, it's been given to federal authorities," Goodell said of those allegations. "They are doing their work and we'll wait and see if there is any credible information that comes from that and at that point in time we'll take whatever steps are necessary, if necessary."

Goodell met with about two dozen players who will be drafted into the league in the coming days. Although the bounty subject did not come up in their conversations, he said, he spoke to them in broader terms about the responsibilities of being an NFL player.

"It's our responsibility to improve the integrity of the league and make the league better than when you came into it," Goodell said of his message to the players. "I think they all understand that and respect that."