James Harrison Hints That Mike Tomlin Offered Payment for Infamous Hit of Browns' Mohamed Massaquoi

Dirty play is not a new concept to the NFL. Since the beginning of the league, players in the mold of Vontaze Burfict have been fined for overly-aggressive hits, leading the NFL to create rules to help protect players such as the changes implemented to kickoffs in 2018.

One of the most memorable excessive hits occurred in 2011, when Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison hit Cleveland Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi.

On Thursday, Harrison added some details to the story of his hit that adds more context. On the "Going Deep" podcast, James Harrison hinted that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was incentivizing him to go after dirty hits, but did so rather discretely.

What could be in the envelope? The most obvious, and most likely answer is money. Teams rewarding players for dirty play is something the league does not condone. Tomlin allegedly paying off players to play dirty is not the first instance of that occurring in the NFL.

Around the same time as the Harrison hit, the New Orleans Saints front office and coaches were putting "bounties" on the heads of opposing players. From 2009 to 2011, if a Saints player took out an opposing star, they would be paid under the table. The Saints scandal is now widely remembered as "bounty gate" and resulted in numerous suspensions and draft pick forfeitures.

Harrison hinting that Tomlin payed him off for hitting Massaquoi suggests that the Saints were not the only team playing payers for hits early in the 2010s. Still, we shouldn't jump to conclusions on Harrison's comments just yet, at least not until the Steelers head coach is allowed to defend himself.