Report: NFL Unwilling To Discuss Settlement With Tom Brady
BOSTON (CBS) -- The ruling by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals this week was quite definitive, but the exact fate of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady remained a bit up in the air in the immediate aftermath.
Now, however, the NFL is making it quite clear that if anyone had hopes of the league negotiating a settlement with Brady to lessen that four-game suspension, that story can be put to rest.
"NFL does not see any need to reopen any settlement talks with Tom Brady and the NFLPA," Adam Schefter reported on his Facebook page. "NFL believes neither NFLPA nor anyone from Brady's camp has provided any rationale for settlement discussions. The league believes the time for those talks has come and gone, after the two sides had discussed a settlement last summer."
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is looking to "move forward" after DeflateGate, per the Associated Press.
What this means is that if Brady either elects to not appeal the ruling (either back to the Second Circuit or to the Supreme Court), or if he loses any appeal, the league will be happy to see the quarterback serve the full four-game suspension come September.
As noted numerous times this week by Michael Felger on the Felger & Massarotti radio program, such a route does hold its risks for the NFL. If Brady does appeal and this week's ruling ultimately gets overturned, then the NFL stands to lose the immense and broad power which was just granted to Goodell by the Second Circuit. That risk could be eliminated by agreeing on some sort of settlement while letting that ruling from the Second Circuit stand as the governing word on player discipline going forward, but it's apparently a risk the NFL is willing to take.
