Former Saint Darren Sharper denies bounty allegations

Former New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper said Friday that the allegations that players were paid by assistant coach Gregg Williams for injuring opponents is erroneous, according to an interview with NFL.com.

Sharper said that primarily the payments were made for big plays, and they were shared by players.

"I think this is something that, from when I got in the league in 1997, has happened thousands and thousands of times over," Sharper said, according to the report. "It's ridiculous that someone is trying to say that we made bounties on knocking guys out, when basically all it was is that when a guy gets an interception, then he might get paid. That's something that guys do amongst themselves."

Sharper didn't deny that Williams was involved, but he stated that the payments were not bounties.