Look: Sean Payton Used Mountain of $1 Bills To Inspire the Saints
New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton knows how to motivate his football team.
Back in the 2009 playoffs, Payton used a very effective prop to inspire his team to the first Super Bowl win in franchise history.
He rolled out a glass case filled with stacks and stacks of cold hard cash to show his players what they would earn if they won the Super Bowl, reported the New Orleans Times Picayune.
It worked, as the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV over the Indianapolis Colts 31-17.
So, Payton thought, if it worked then, it should work now. But this time, he upped the ante — and added another prop to the glass case.
You heard the story from @JonDeTrinis of #Saints coach Sean Payton coming into his locker room with armed guards, cash and a Super Bowl trophy as motivation? For the first time, here is what it looked like: pic.twitter.com/DVij0t77z9
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 13, 2019
During a team meeting last Monday, players came into the locker room to find a big box underneath a gold curtain, the New Orleans Times Picayune explained.
When Payton unveiled it, there sat a glass case full of about $225,000 in cash, along with a Lombardi Trophy. It was escorted into the facility by three armed guards.
The money was all $1 bills, to maximize the impact.
The message to his players was: This is what you’re playing for, guys. Or, as he reportedly said it: “You want this? Win three (bleeping) games.”
Sean Payton went into the Saints locker room with the Lombardi trophy on top of $225k in cash (Saints’ players SB bonus) and said “Y’all want this? Win 3 f–king games,” per @JonDeTrinis pic.twitter.com/xo9OJssC2r
— Bleacher Report NFL (@BR_NFL) January 9, 2019
“It was surreal because I’ve never seen that much money in person, so when he brought that out … I was like, ‘Oh wow, this is for real? This is what we’re playing for?’” Saints rookie defensive end Taylor Stallworth said.
“So I feel like that gives the guys another edge, like not only are we in this to win it all, but we got a lot at stake. We all want to walk out of here with a ring on our finger.”
Running back Mark Ingram agreed.
“I think guys were excited,” he said. “You see a thing like that full of cash, that’ll make you excited a little bit.”
Saints defensive tackle Tyeler Davison said it’s all about that trophy.
“Really, we’re playing for that trophy,” Davison told the Times-Picayune.
“That’s the biggest thing that we saw in there, and it just gave us a mental picture of what we’re playing for.”
The Saints, of course, used that as motivation to score a come-from-behind 20-14 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles in the NFC Divisional Round playoff game Sunday.
Drew Brees was 28 for 38 for 301 yards and two touchdown passes, while Michael Thomas had 12 receptions for 171 yards and one touchdown.
They advance to the NFC Championship game next Sunday as the No. 1 seed, hosting the Los Angeles Rams. The winner goes to the Super Bowl.
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