The NFL found that Williams and as many as 27 Saints defensive players were involved in the scheme. An unidentified Saints player first alerted the NFL to the scheme in the 2010 offseason, but the investigation stalled until the NFL found irrefutable evidence of a bounty system just before the 2011–12 playoffs. A league investigation revealed that Williams began the bounty system soon after he arrived in New Orleans, after Payton charged him to make the Saints' defense "nasty." Players usually earned $1,000 for "cart-offs" and $1,500 for "knockouts" during the regular season (though payments were known to triple during the playoffs), though they were encouraged to put their winnings back into the pot in order to raise the stakes as the season went on. The investigation also found that Payton tried to cover up the scheme, and that linebackers coach Joe Vitt, whom Payton had assigned to monitor Williams (the two reportedly did not get along), knew about the broad lines of the scheme and did nothing. Soon after the investigation came to light, several former players and coaches with the Bills and Redskins claimed that Williams operated similar systems while he was with them. Former NFL coach and current NBC Sports analyst Tony Dungy said that he was certain Williams operated a similar system with the Oilers/Titans as well. However, several players, coaches and team executives who were with Williams in Houston/Tennessee, Buffalo and Washington have denied that Williams ever ran a bounty system. Williams was summoned to NFL headquarters after the investigation concluded in mid-February. He initially denied any involvement, but recanted and admitted everything in a meeting with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. He issued a statement apologizing for his role, saying that he had known it was wrong from the start. On March 21, 2012, the NFL suspended Williams indefinitely for "conduct detrimental" to the league, effective that day. In a statement, the NFL said that its investigation had found that Williams not only administered the bounty program and occasionally contributed some of his own money to the bounty pool, but also lied to league investigators about his role. Consequently, the suspension would run until the end of the 2012 season at the earliest. When Williams applied for reinstatement, Goodell considered how much Williams cooperated with the NFL in its continuing investigation; Goodell also expected Williams to participate in league efforts to eliminate bounty systems altogether.