Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Tice is now under investigation by the NFL for being allegedly being involved in a Super Bowl ticket scalping ring.

According to a report on ESPN, Tice admitted to the league office that he had scalped Super Bowl tickets when he was an assistant with the Vikings but denied ever selling them since he became head coach. The ESPN story also claims that Tice told his assistant coaches they could sell their Super Bowl tickets to a California-based ticket agency.

No NFL employee is permitted to scalp Super Bowl tickets according to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. If it is found Tice did scalp tickets, he could be subject to fines and other penalties by the league.

Tice told SI.com, Sports Illustrated's website, that he was sure the case would blow over. 'I'm confident when the league finishes looking at this, everything will come out fine,' Tice said. 'It's a shame assumptions are being made about my role in this. I did not approach any player about Super Bowl tickets as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.'

A story in today's Minneapolis Star Tribune indicates that Vikings running backs coach Dean Dalton was also questioned by league officials about the alleged scalping of tickets.

Tice led the Vikings to the playoffs last year although the team finished with an 8-8 record. He is entering the final year of his contract and is the lowest paid head coach in the NFL.