I know a lot of people are complaining about Goodell putting off a decision until the owners meeting, but I can actually understand this.
The ramifications are huge. This doesn't affect just the Saints. It also affects the Rams and Redskins. It affects the Rams because they just hired Williams and it affects the Redskins because of potential salary cap ramifications if Williams put money in the pot there.
Anyone from the Saints defense over the last 3 years is affected. And they have had players move on. So, we're not just talking about 22-27 players. We're talking about more than 30 players and players on other teams.
Let's say, hypothetically, that every player with the exception of Vilma gets a 4 game suspension. The league is likely to allow the Saints to spread them out over the course of the year. Former Saints players on other teams won't be as lucky. Vilma and any other player who threw in large funds for the express intent of targeting a single player should get a 1 year suspension.
Then there is what to do with the money. In this case, they should put the money from the fines into the injured players fund.
Then there is what to do with Williams, Payton, and Loomis. Williams ran this for at least 4 years (one with Washington and 3 with New Orleans). Does he get a 1 year suspension or is he gone for life?
What sort of fines do you hit Payton and Loomis with? Clearly they knew it was going on. Loomis will probably be fired by Benson since Benson gave him a direct order to make sure it was stopped. But I still expect him to be fined. And Payton was clearly complicit in it, but let it continue despite league memos reminding people that Bounties and bounty systems are against the CBA and have been for at least the past 2 CBAs.
If you decapitate the Saints management right before the draft by firing Payton and Loomis, then you put them at a distinct disadvantage. Even if the scouting staff is the same, the coach isn't and he's the one who has to deal with the players.
So, I can fully understand why Goodell is waiting until the owners meeting. People may not like it, but it's actually the right thing to do since this is 1000X bigger than the incident with the Patriots.