Jonathan Vilma Learns About Bounty Suspension When Watching SportsCenter

Countless New Orleans fans learned Tuesday about Saints players being suspended for their roles in the Bountygate scandal.

They most likely heard the news on the radio, by word of mouth or on TV. It turns out that's how Saints star linebacker Jonathan Vilma found out, too.

Chase Daniels, a quarterback with the Saints, tweeted that he was with Vilma on Tuesday when Vilma saw he was being suspended on ESPN's SportsCenter, according to Yahoo Sports.

Vilma has been banned from the NFL for an entire season while teammate Will Smith, a defensive end, has been suspended four games. Packers defensive end Anthony Hargrove, with the Saints from 2009 to 2010, was given an eight-game suspension, and Browns linebacker Scott Fujita is out for three.

Vilma was rumored to be a lead offender in a team program that paid players cash for hard hits and knocking opponents out of games. When Vilma's suspension was handed down Tuesday, the NFL said he had offered $10,000 for a hit on Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner in 2009 and the same amount for a hit on Brett Favre in 2010.

If anyone doubted that the league's decision showed what NFL leaders thought of Vilma's actions, the way he found out may have been even more telling.