The league announced the decision Monday, four days after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spent roughly six hours speaking with Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis, and Joe Vitt that after careful consideration of their appeals, the Commissioner has upheld the discipline that was imposed for continuing violations of the league's anti-bounty rule that endangered player safety over a three-year period. Payton's season-long suspension without pay for the 2012 NFL season will begin on April 16. Suspensions for Loomis and Vitt begin with the start of the 2012 regular season.