Tagged: New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints are getting a $5 million payment from the state because the Big Easy is hosting the Super Bowl.

The incentive was included in the 2009 deal between Gov. Bobby Jindal and Saints owner Tom Benson to keep the Saints in Louisiana through 2025.

The money is owed to the NFL team by June 30. Lawmakers will be asked to budget the payment in their upcoming legislative session.

The Jindal administration says the Super Bowl payment to the Saints won't come from the state's general fund at the expense of items like health services and education programs.

Drew Brees says the Saints are ready to put the bounty scandal "to bed," be gracious Super Bowl hosts and look forward to next season.

Brees has been an ambassador for New Orleans since he arrived in 2006, and is maintaining that role with a busy schedule this week as the Big Easy prepares to host its first Super Bowl in more than a decade on Sunday.

Winds from the aftermath of a Wednesday storm sent the San Francisco 49ers into the New Orleans Saints indoor practice facility for their first full practice in New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII.

But the 49ers also breezed through the 95-minute session so efficiently that head coach Jim Harbaugh got through all of his team’s work with approximately 15 minutes to spare. To say the least, the practice was spirited and focused.

New Orleans Saints spokesman Greg Bensel says general manager Mickey Loomis has a contract that runs through 2017.

Bensel says Loomis agreed to the deal last August but the team chose not to discuss it publicly until Monday, when the subject came up during media events connected to the Super Bowl. The game will be played in New Orleans this Sunday.