The NFL will is reportedly refusing to agree on any type of settlement with Tom Brady unless the New England Patriots quarterback accepts the findings of the Ted Wells report.
According to several reports, settlement discussions between the NFL and NFL Players Association went “nowhere” on Tuesday in advance of Wednesday’s hearing in front of U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman. And it appears that’s the way it will remain.
NFL position Tuesday during "settlement" talks with Tom Brady was he would have to "accept Wells Report." Unacceptable for Brady & NFLPA
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) August 12, 2015
Union and Brady position remains same: A fine, no games suspended and no admission of guilt.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) August 12, 2015
At this point, not looking bad is equally important to both sides. If Brady publicly accepts the findings of the Wells report — which stated that he was “generally aware” of ball tampering — he is outed as a liar and a cheat. If the NFL cuts the suspension down and agrees there was not enough evidence against Brady to prove he was guilty of anything, the league would basically be admitting it botched the initial punishment and the appeal hearing.
Brady has maintained all along that he does not believe he did anything wrong, so he’s not going to suddenly back down from that stance. On the other side, Roger Goodell would rather have a judge overturn Brady’s suspension than overturn it himself and deal with backlash from the public and NFL team owners.
Goodell has apparently drawn his own conclusions about Deflategate and has worked hard to paint Brady in a negative light. He can’t reverse course now, and neither can Brady.
