Tom Brady might be willing to accept a suspension as Deflategate drags on
There is still no settlement in Deflategate, but there might be a deal that Tom Brady would be willing to accept.
With lawyers representing both sides appearing in court Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman announced that negotiations so far have been unsuccessful, but referred to a settlement as a “logical and rational option.’’ Berman hopes to resolve the case by Sept. 4 and said Brady and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would be required to attend an Aug. 31 hearing.
Before lawyers appeared in court, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Brady would be willing to accept “a form of a suspension’’ if it was for a failure to cooperate rather than accepting the findings of the Wells Report.
Tom Brady is open to accepting some form of suspension, but only if it can be for failing to cooperate with the NFL rather than admitting to the Wells’ Report findings, per league sources. The NFL has been adamant that Brady admits to the report’s findings, something he doesn’t seem willing to ever do. With that in mind, settlement discussions have gone “nowhere’’, according to sources, and the two sides are back in court today.
While Berman heard oral arguments on Wednesday morning, Brady took part in the Patriots’ joint practice with the Saints in West Virginia. He a had missed practice on Tuesday to appear at settlement talks in New York, according to multiple reports.
Goodell suspended Brady for four games in May after NFL-appointed investigator Ted Wells’ report concluded it was “more probable than not’’ that he was “at least generally aware’’ of the deflation of footballs used in the AFC Championship Game in January. Goodell cited the destruction of Brady’s cellphone containing nearly 10,000 text messages in explaining his decision to uphold the suspension in July following an appeal by Brady.
In a settlement conference with Judge Berman on Aug. 12, NFL Players Association attorney Jeffrey Kessler conceded that Brady could have handled the cellphone differently. Kessler noted that Brady’s agent Don Yee was responsible for any lack of cooperation regarding electronic cooperation.
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