Former Pittsburgh Steelers star James Harrison said coach Mike Tomlin gave him an envelope after the linebacker's devastating hit on Cleveland Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquo iin 2010.
"The G-est thing Mike Tomlin ever did, he handed me an envelope after that," Harrison said on Barstool's "Going Deep" podcast. "I'm not going to say what, but he handed me an envelope after that."
Harrison initially was fined $75,000 for the hit—the most, he said, that he was ever fined. Massaquoi suffered a concussion as a result of the head-to-head hit, which was not flagged in the game.
"Listen, on everything I love, on my daddy's grave, I hit that man with about 50 percent of what I had, and I just hit him because I wanted him to let loose of the ball," Harrison said on the podcast. "If I had knew they was gonna fine me $75,000, I would have tried to kill him."
Harrison's fine also was high because he was considered a repeat offender, and he had been fined $5,000 earlier in the season for unnecessary roughness.
Steelers president Art Rooney II issued a statement later Thursday denying Harrison's claims.
I believe Rooney…can’t imagine Tomlin is walking around like a scene out of the Godfather handing out envelopes filled with money for hits.
Source:ESPN (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)