When does a contact sport become a crime? That's the question every National Football League (NFL) fan has been asking in light of former Saints (DC) Gregg Williams' "bounty program." No one has wrestled with this question more than NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell. Goodell faced an ethical decision that will determine his tenure as NFL commissioner; his decision will become a priority for many commissioners after him. Using the RESOLVEDD decision-making strategy developed by Raymond Pfeiffer and Ralph Forsberg (2005), this article will examine the scandal, carefully examine the decisions made, and determine whether the NLF commissioner took the correct action for the league. The first step in the decision making process The RESOLVEDD process, represented by “R”, is “review the case” (Pfeiffer & Forsberg, 2005). The NFL began investigating the New Orleans Saints after their Super Bowl victory in 2009, when allegations arose that the organization had set up a cash bonus scheme for injuring players. The extra payments are against league rules, which prohibit non-contractual bonuses. Furthermore, these bonuses did not pay for performance; but, in particular, car-offs, concussions and knock-outs. The sums of these payments reached $50,000 during the 2009 playoffs. Initial investigations fizzled out when security personnel interviewed players and coaches; all denied that such a program ever existed (National Football League, 2012). The league couldn't prove the allegations at the time, but Goodell wanted to make sure the league understood that this type of program would not be tolerated. The league will send biannual letters to all teams, reminding them that out-of-contract bonuses are illegal... half of document... imes.com/2012/03/22/sports /football/nfl-delivers-harsh-punishment- to-saints-over-bounty-program.html?pagewanted=allCherry, E., Sealey, D., & Mangialardi, L. (1991). Understand the risks. Journal of Sport Management, 5(2), 198.Kahn, L. (2009). Sports, antitrust enforcement and collective bargaining. Antitrust Bulletin, 54(4), 857-881. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from the EBSCO Host database. National Football League. (2012). Full statement from the NFL on the "bounty" program run by the New Orleans Saints. nola.com. Retrieved May 1, 2012, from www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2012/03/full_nfl_statement_into_bounty.htmlO'Rourke, M. (2011). Risk on the pitch and in the headlines. Risk Management, 58(3), 37. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from the EBSCO Host database. Pfeiffer, R., & Forsberg, R. (2005). Ethics at Work: Cases and Strategies (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.