Following their season-opener against the Arizona Cardinals, the Patriots will return home to take on the Dolphins, Texans, and Bills for the remaining three contests of Brady’s suspension.
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New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s latest attempt to avoid serving a four-game Deflategate suspension to start the new season was flatly rejected Wednesday by an appeals court.
Jimmy Golen covers sports and the law for The Associated Press.
She predicted Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo “will be getting a whole lot of repetitions” as the Patriots prepare for their season opener September 11 at Arizona.
The request for a rehearing by Brady and the National Football League Players Association had been considered a long shot because the appeals court rarely grants them.
But in a 2-1 decision on April 25, an appeals court panel restored Brady’s punishment, saying Goodell had broad discretion under the league’s collective bargaining agreement with its players to resolve what it called an “intramural controversy”.
Brady is increasingly likely to miss the first four games of the 2016 season.
Anthony Barkow, a lawyer who submitted an amicus brief on behalf of Kenneth R. Feinberg, the special master of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund and a longtime arbitrator, said: “We wish the result were otherwise, but respect and understand the decision and know that it is extremely rare for the 2nd Circuit to grant en banc review”.
Brady was suspended after a lawyer hired by the league to investigate said the quarterback had been “generally aware” that two Patriots employees had conspired to deflate the footballs, which could make them easier to grip.
Tom Brady’s suspension will be upheld. The four-time Super Bowl victor signed a two-year contract extension during the offseason that dropped his 2016 salary from $9 million to $1 million to save himself nearly $2 million in lost salary during the suspension. Garoppolo is a free agent next year, and a strong showing in Brady’s absence could allow the Patriots to trade him for a first-round pick.
Brady can still appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but it accepts to review only a small fraction of cases it considers. Even in their unwavering support of Brady, many Patriots fans consider this to be a benefit for the team. The Bills host New England in Week 8 on October 30.
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The court’s decision is unlikely to change minds on either side.
