The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the NFL and NFLPA were close to an agreement to strip commissioner Roger Goodell of his power. While the focus of that report was Goodell’s overall loss of power when it comes to discipline, Michael Hurley of CBS Boston points out a quote from NFLPA director DeMaurice Smith, that could put an end to the never-ending saga known as DeflateGate.
“I can’t imagine there is any appetite [from the players] to agree with any proposal that doesn’t wrap up all the litigation,” Smith told the WSJ. “We can either continue to litigate or reach a collectively bargained conclusion.”
With this, Hurley draws the conclusion “would very likely require the NFL to settle its ongoing litigation against players.” In other words: Tom Brady and DeflateGate, clearly the highest profile litigation
“We are addressing the subject in a serious way,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told the paper, “and will continue to discuss this directly with the union and not in the media.”
With the NFL now dealing with the mess of linking CTE to football, Hurley suggests that focusing their resources on that (including possible legal battles) would be of better use than trying to continue the legal battle with Brady and the Patriots. It could end up being all the leverage they need in order to secure a settlement with the league.
If you haven’t been keeping up with the DeflateGate story, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman said that Goodell went too far in Brady’s punishment, rescinding the suspension on September 3 of 2015.“Because there was no notice of a four-game suspension in the circumstances presented here,” Judge Berman wrote, “Commissioner Goodell may be said to have ‘dispense(d) his own brand of industrial justice.’” The NFL filed an appeal the same afternoon.
“We are grateful to Judge Berman for hearing this matter, but respectfully disagree with today’s decision,” Goodell said in a statement at the time of the appeal. “We will appeal (the) ruling in order to uphold the collectively bargained responsibility to protect the integrity of the game. The commissioner’s responsibility to secure the competitive fairness of our game is a paramount principle, and the league and our 32 clubs will continue to pursue a path to that end.”
An entire football season later, DeflateGate appeal hearings began in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York on March 3 of, where the NFL took its first swing at reversing Judge Berman’s decision. The three judges who fielded the appeal could take months to decide, and given the timeframe, a settlement becomes more likely, as it appears the NFL has more pressing issues to focus on in the days moving forward.
In the event that a settlement is not reached, or the court rules in favor of the NFL, the Patriots restructured Brady’s contract to protect him from a possible DeflateGate suspension. If Brady and his camp lose, they would likely request another hearing, further stretching the case out into next season.
This strategy would seemingly be the road to take for Brady and his camp, considering a drawn out process over a suspension certainly makes the NFL and Goodell look worse than it does Brady. Especially when you consider the other suspensions that Goodell has had overturned, such as that of Ray Rice, and Adrian Peterson. By that point, Goodell may not be in charge of discipline at all—judges, appeals or otherwise.
