No Credit For Saints' Good Deeds

NFL News - July 2, 2009 - Written by Mike

Some of the Saints thought is would be a great idea to help fiance the Louisiana Film Studios. Initially, they thought they were participating in "a routine tax credit program", the one key part missing was they never received any authorization for the credit.

The film studios pulled a fast one over a number of the Saints, not just players either. Coach Sean Payton, and of the the Saints most famous players Archie Manning were amongst the Saints involved. The total amount invested by the different Saints totals almost 2 million dollars.

The film studio was in need of someone who really had a big heart, and for them, it was the New Orleans Saints. Drew Brees put in $100,000 dollars of his own money in, he was told he would get $133,000 in tax credits for his generosity. The scam started when ex long snapper Kevin Houser heard about this benefit, and thought it was a great idea to get teammates involved.

As previously mentioned, Archie Manning was one of the gracious donors. Archie is believed to have put $80,000 of his own cash down, which is a good bit, considering that Archie Manning doesn't have NFL type money coming in anymore. Head Coach Sean Payton pitched in $144,000 and that was not even close to the worst case. The person who came out on the real short end of the stick is defensive end Charles Grant. Grant saw the opportunity to open his heart, but now appears to be out $450,000. Another  $250,000 was given by ex punter Mitch Berger, which is big money for an NFL punter.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now on the case, and conducting interviews with involved parties, including Archie Manning. For now, it appears as though the money is lost, but there is a chance of a resolution.