Defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, now with the Green Bay Packers, was suspended for the first half of the 16-game season; Saints defensive end Will Smith was barred for the opening four games; and linebacker Scott Fujita, now with the Cleveland Browns, will miss the first three games. Like Vilma, they were suspended without pay.

Vilma released a statement later Wednesday denying any role in the alleged bounty program and vowing to fight his suspension.

"I am shocked and extremely disappointed by the NFL's decision to suspend me for the 2012 season. Commissioner Roger Goodell has refused to share any of the supposed evidence he claims supports this unprecedented punishment. The reason is clear: I never paid, or intended to pay, $10,000, or any amount of money, to any player for knocking Kurt Warner, Brett Favre or any other player, out of the 2009 divisional playoff game, 2010 NFC Championship Game, or any other game.

"I never set out to intentionally hurt any player and never enticed any teammate to intentionally hurt another player. I also never put any money into a bounty pool or helped to create a bounty pool intended to pay out money for injuring other players. I have always conducted myself in a professional and proud manner. I intend to fight this injustice, to defend my reputation, to stand up for my team and my profession, and to send a clear signal to the commissioner that the process has failed, to the detriment of me, my teammates, the New Orleans Saints and the game."

All four player suspensions will be appealed, according to an NFL source, who told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, "Get ready for a massive multiple legal battle over this on several fronts."

In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, DeMaurice Smith, the head of the NFL Players Association, said the union would fight the penalties. Fujita is a member of the NFLPA's executive committee.

The league's statement said Vilma, Hargrove, Smith and Fujita were suspended because of "conduct detrimental to the NFL as a result of their leadership roles" with the bounties.

Will Smith issued a statement Wednesday night saying he, too, will appeal and called the allegations against him "one-hundred percent false."

"I am disappointed the NFL has punished me with a four game suspension. I have never in my career, nor as a Captain asked others, to intentionally target and hurt specific opposing players. I was in no way involved in establishing or assisting Gregg Williams with implementing a bounty program. The accusations made against me are completely and one-hundred percent false, and I plan to appeal the decision along with the help of the NFL Players Association," he said via statement sent by his publicist.

"Through this entire process, the NFL never notified me of what I was being accused of, nor presented me with any evidence or reasoning for this decision," Smith's statement continued. "I am interested in discovering who is making these specific and false accusations, and as well as why a decision was made without speaking with me and giving me the opportunity to review the facts. I am going to work with my union to clear my name and returning to the game I love and respect. Thank you to our fans for the continued support."

Fujita did not immediately respond to an email or phone call from The Associated Press seeking comment. He is not taking part in the Browns' "voluntary" offseason conditioning program and remains in California with his family. His wife, Jaclyn, recently gave birth to the couple's third daughter.

An NFL investigation determined the Saints ran a bounty system from 2009 to '11 that offered thousands of dollars to players for big hits that knocked opponents out of games.

In March, Goodell suspended Saints head coach Sean Payton for all of next season without pay, and levied other penalties against the club.

But no players were punished until Wednesday. Originally, the league said that 22 to 27 defensive players were involved in the illegal scheme orchestrated by then-Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and started in the season New Orleans won its only Super Bowl championship.

Targeted opponents included quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Brett Favre and Kurt Warner. "Knockouts" were worth $1,500 and "cart-offs" $1,000, with payments doubled or tripled for the playoffs.

Warner was among several former and current NFL players to react on social media to the NFL's ruling.

"Just saw player suspensions from "bounty gate", WOW! #fb," Warner posted on Twitter.

Wednesday's penalties close the book on the league's discipline for bounties, leaving the Saints without their head coach and top defensive player (Vilma) for the full season -- and also affecting two other clubs.

"In assessing player discipline, I focused on players who were in leadership positions at the Saints; contributed a particularly large sum of money toward the program; specifically contributed to a bounty on an opposing player; demonstrated a clear intent to participate in a program that potentially injured opposing players; sought rewards for doing so; and/or obstructed the 2010 investigation," Goodell said in a statement.

While the league said that its investigation showed "a significant number of players participated" in the bounties -- by ponying up cash or collecting it -- "the players disciplined participated at a different and more significant level."

According to the league, Saints defensive captain Vilma offered $10,000 in cash to any player who knocked then-Cardinals QB Warner out of a playoff game at the end of the 2009 season, and the same amount for knocking then-Vikings QB Favre out of that season's NFC Championship Game. The Saints were flagged for roughing Favre twice in that game, and the league later said they should have received another penalty for a brutal high-low hit from Remi Ayodele and Bobby McCray that hurt Favre's ankle. He was able to finish the game, but the Saints won in overtime en route to the NFL title.

According to the NFL, Fujita "pledged a significant amount of money to the prohibited pay-for-performance/bounty pool during the 2009 NFL Playoffs when he played for the Saints."