Tom Brady was surprisingly absent from practice on Tuesday morning. The New England Patriots quarterback traveled to New York to continue settlement talks with the NFL, but he ended up leaving with no progress being made.
In fact, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman reportedly told Brady that settlement discussions are at such a standstill that the 38-year-old doesn’t need to bother showing up to court on Wednesday.
Brady was in New York for settlement talks today ordered by Judge Berman. "No progress," source said, so he's not staying for hearing.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 18, 2015
Per source, with settlement talks at a standstill, the judge informed Patriots QB Tom Brady there's no need for him to be there tomorrow.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 18, 2015
Berman is trying to force the NFL and NFL Players Association to work out a deal so he doesn’t have to make a ruling, but it’s not working. Brady has no intention of admitting guilt, and he’s certainly not going to give Roger Goodell the one thing he wants.
Brady seems intent on only accepting a fine and not a suspension. If the NFL agrees to overturn the suspension, the public would likely be outraged. There would also be a certain group of NFL owners that would be disappointed in the commissioner.
Berman is going to have to decide the outcome of Deflategate. Even if he does that before the Week 1 opener, there’s no guarantee the court battle will end there.
