NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spent time last week convincing the Minnesota legislature of the error of its ways, strong-arming a state Senate committee into reviving a plan for a brand new, fixed-roof stadium for the Vikings in downtown Minneapolis.

Cost of said stadium? Before a single shovel hits the ground, $975 million.

Cost to the Vikings? $427 million, up front.

Cost to the citizens of Minnesota? All the rest, or at least $548 million.

No wonder it's being called "The People's Stadium."

The next time the Commissioner is thinking about firing up the NFL's jet, he might consider heading in a slightly more southerly direction and seeing just what the heck is going on in New Orleans.

The last couple months have seen Goodell suspend Saints head coach Sean Payton for the entirety of the 2012 season, General Manager Mickey Loomis for the first eight games of the season, and onetime defensive coordinator Gregg Williams indefinitely, all for their roles in the purported "Bountygate" program that encouraged Saints' defensive players to end opposing players' careers for a few thousand dollars a pop.

While no current or former Saints' players have yet been suspended because of involvement in the pay-for-pain program, it's widely assumed several will be.

Now, allegations have arisen that from 2002-2004 Loomis had access to and used eavesdropping equipment that allowed him to listen in on real-time, game-day discussions taking place amongst members of opposing coaching staffs in New Orleans.

Forget for a minute that New Orleans was 12-12 at home during those three seasons (compared to 13-11 on the road.) Also forget for a moment that the supposed electronic setup most likely violated state and federal laws.

Focus instead on what happened to New England Patriots for their involvement in what came to be known as the "Spygate" controversy in 2007. Armed with what he was convinced was enough compelling and irrefutable evidence that the Patriots were indeed involved in electronically stealing signals from the New York Jets' defensive coaching staff, Goodell dropped the hammer on the Patriots, fining coach Bill Belichick $500,000, the Patriots $250,000, and docking the team their 2008 first round draft pick.

Now, if the commissioner was willing to do that to the Patriots, with an owner as powerful and influential as Bob Kraft, at the height of their dominance, one has to wonder what Goodell will be willing to do to the Saints, should enough damning evidence come forward.

Yes, the Saints won a Super Bowl, the team's first, just two years ago. Yes, the role the Saints played in the resurrection of New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina has reached near-mythic status. And yes, the Saints have one of the premier skill position players in the league in quarterback Drew Brees.

But what may or may not be going on in New Orleans, as more and more allegations continue to surface, begins to look more and more like a franchise that believes too much of itself and not enough in its role as part of the larger organism, i.e., the National Football League.

The NFL has not risen to mega-league status by promoting the outlier. Just ask Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders.

No, today's NFL survives and thrives on companies (teams) and workers (players) toeing the company line and not rocking the boat. Wild and crazy characters are fine, as long as they remember they're characters; get too caught up in ones own antics and the League has plenty of ways to reign in individuals and organizations that forget their place in the larger picture.

In the NCAA, the New Orleans Saints would be fast approaching the definition of a program that has "lost institutional control," and was fast approaching the very real possibility of a death penalty sentence. Nothing like that has ever happened to an NFL team, and the last time it happened to a college program was to the Mustangs of SMU in 1987.

Say what you will about him, Roger Goodell is not stupid. He fully understands the ramifications of bringing that kind of pain down on the Saints. But he must also understand, as must the Saints and their owner, Tom Benson, understand, that what is going on in New Orleans, what is alleged to have happened in New Orleans, can do the league no good, now or in the long run.

It is time to air all the dirty laundry in New Orleans, to get all the skeletons out of the closet. Mr. Benson, rather than spending time adding to his professional sports team portfolio, should be focusing on getting his Saints back to something approaching respectability.

From league feel-good story to league pariah in two short years may be something of a record.

Maybe it's not such a headscratcher why Drew Brees still hasn't re-signed with his Saints...