James Harrison: Tomlin 'never paid me for hurting someone'

James Harrison denies the rumors that Mike Tomlin paid him to hurt other players after saying the head coach handed the linebacker an envelope following a fined hit during the 2010 season.

"Mike T. has never paid me for hurting someone or trying to hurt someone or put a bounty on anybody!" the former Pittsburgh Steelers defender said Friday in an Instagram post.

"Again at no time did Mike T. ever suggest anybody hurt anybody or that they'd be rewarded for anything like that," he added.

Harrison received the biggest fine of his career ($75,000) for the tackle, which gave former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi a concussion.

The 2008 Defensive Player of the Year also says the league fined him for a legal play because it was "getting pressure because the first concussion lawsuits were starting."

In an interview on Barstool's "Going Deep" podcast, Harrison said that Tomlin "handed him an envelope" following his hard hit on Massaquoi. Harrison didn't specify what was in the envelope.

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton then said Thursday he doesn't believe the NFL would investigate the envelope claims, referencing his 2012 suspension. Payton and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams were banned for a full year after an investigation found they paid out bonuses to players for injuring opponents.

Steelers president Art Rooney II, who said in 2010 that Harrison's tackle was "a legal hit," denied the defender's envelope claims through a statement Thursday.