SN -- It looks like Tom Brady might get a four-game suspension after all for his role in the 2014 AFC Championship football air pressure scandal.
According to the Boston Globe, the Patriots are "bracing" for Brady to lose his Deflategate appeal and serve the suspension this season. The Globe points out how the Patriots reduced Brady's base salary to $1 million last week while posting an 8,000-word story on their website titled "The Background and Myths of Deflategate — Separating Fact From Fiction."
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman ruled in September to vacate NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's four-game suspension of Brady for his alleged role in the deliberate deflation of footballs during the Jan. 18, 2015 game against the Colts. But the NFL appealed, stringing out the process.
The NFL's appeal was heard in court earlier this month in front of a three-judge panel and was largely considered a victory for the league as the trio of judges appeared skeptical of attorney Jeffrey Kessler's argument that Brady routinely destroys his cell phones and sees nothing corrupt about the activity.
A ruling on the NFL's appeal is expected sometime in late spring or early summer, at which point a majority vote (3-0 or 2-1) will decide which side wins, providing closure to Deflategate — unless the losing party either requests a rehearing or attempts to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to include the case as one of the 80 or so it hears each year.
Jimmy Garoppolo would fill in at quarterback if Brady is suspended.
According to the Boston Globe, the Patriots are "bracing" for Brady to lose his Deflategate appeal and serve the suspension this season. The Globe points out how the Patriots reduced Brady's base salary to $1 million last week while posting an 8,000-word story on their website titled "The Background and Myths of Deflategate — Separating Fact From Fiction."
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman ruled in September to vacate NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's four-game suspension of Brady for his alleged role in the deliberate deflation of footballs during the Jan. 18, 2015 game against the Colts. But the NFL appealed, stringing out the process.
The NFL's appeal was heard in court earlier this month in front of a three-judge panel and was largely considered a victory for the league as the trio of judges appeared skeptical of attorney Jeffrey Kessler's argument that Brady routinely destroys his cell phones and sees nothing corrupt about the activity.
A ruling on the NFL's appeal is expected sometime in late spring or early summer, at which point a majority vote (3-0 or 2-1) will decide which side wins, providing closure to Deflategate — unless the losing party either requests a rehearing or attempts to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to include the case as one of the 80 or so it hears each year.
Jimmy Garoppolo would fill in at quarterback if Brady is suspended.
