NFL could settle with Tom Brady to avoid appeal documents going public

The judge who will be presiding over the lawsuit Tom Brady and the NFL Players Association have filed against the NFL has made one thing extremely clear — he would rather the two sides reach a settlement than drag each other through litigation.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman issued a lengthy order to the NFL and NFLPA on Friday in which he commanded the two sides to engage in “comprehensive, good-faith settlement discussions” before a settlement conference on Aug. 12. Now that Roger Goodell has ruled to uphold Brady’s four-game suspension, the common belief is that the ship has sailed.

That may not be the case.

To this point, the NFL and NFLPA have agreed to keep the documents from Brady’s appeal hearing sealed. However, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the NFLPA only agreed to keep the transcript under seal at the urging of the league. And Judge Berman wrote on Friday that he won’t be inclined to keep anything a secret if the case ends up in federal court.

“I always have considerable difficulty approving any sealed documents, given the keen public interest in these matters and the public’s right to know,” he said.

Would the unsealing of the appeal transcript be bad news for the NFL?

Even those who are convinced Brady is guilty can agree that Goodell and his minions have botched Deflategate from the start. There’s a strong chance an NFL employee leaked bad information about the actual PSI of the game balls the Patriots used in the AFC Championship Game. On Friday, the Patriots released a string of emails showing that they urged the NFL to address the false report, stop the leaks and investigate its own employees as part of the Ted Wells report. The NFL basically blew it off.

Without a settlement, Judge Berman would likely unseal the transcripts once a ruling is delivered. The NFL clearly wants the public to focus on the fact that Brady allegedly destroyed his cell phone, but what about everything else that went on during the hearing? Remember the reports about Brady giving a great performance during the appeal and coming off as very genuine? If his side of the story is revealed, that could sway public opinion — at least that of those who are on the fence — in Brady’s favor.

Brady’s camp handed over detailed records of the quarterback’s electronic communications during the appeal and encouraged the league to gather as much information and contact as many people as needed. Goodell decided that doing so would require too much time and resources. In other words, it was too late to dig for the actual truth. Brady broke his phone, and that’s all that matters.

A settlement remains unlikely, especially when you read information like this. But if the NFL decides that it would be a PR nightmare for Brady’s detailed side of the story to be heard, Goodell may be more inclined to negotiate.