News & Info/Headlines

As if fantasy football owners didn't have enough on their plates heading into this week's NFL Draft, a U.S. Appeals court has reinstated Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's four-game suspension for his role in deflating footballs in the 2014 AFC Championship Game.

That's right kids. Deflategate is back.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday in New York. The decision by a three-judge panel may end the legal debate over the scandal that led to months of football fans arguing over air pressure and the reputation of one of the league's top teams.

It is also likely to fuel a fresh round of debate over what role, if any, the quarterback and top NFL star played in using underinflated footballs at the AFC championship game in January 2015.

The appeals ruling follows a September decision by Manhattan Judge Richard Berman that went against the league, letting Brady skip the suspension. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell insisted the suspension was deserved.

Making matters worse for Brady, when Berman issued his ruling scuttling the suspension, Berman refrained from addressing multiple other arguments supporting the potential reversal of the discipline imposed on Brady as a result of the situation. According to Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio, the move was viewed as an opportunity for Judge Berman to overturn the suspension a second time, if the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit disagreed with Judge Berman on the initial grounds for wiping out the suspension.

In reversing Judge Berman, however, the Second Circuit opted to rule on all open issues, blocking any further effort by Judge Berman to defeat the suspension.

“Although it is our usual practice to allow the district court to address arguments in the first instance, we choose to address the [NFLPA’s] arguments here because they were fully briefed below and on appeal and because they are meritless,” the Second Circuit wrote at page 30 of the ruling.

The two open issues related to the argument that Goodell improperly delegated his authority to NFL executive V.P. of football operations Troy Vincent to make the first decision regarding the imposition of discipline and the claim that Goodell was “evidently partial” in his role as arbitrator.

“Here, the parties contracted in the CBA to specifically allow the Commissioner to sit as the arbitrator,” the Second Circuit wrote at page 33. “They did so knowing full well that the Commissioner had the sole power of determining what constitutes ‘conduct detrimental,’ and thus knowing that the Commissioner would have a stake both in the underlying discipline and in every arbitration [falling within his jurisdiction]. Had the parties wished to restrict the Commissioner’s authority, they could have fashioned a different agreement.”

According to Florio, "that’s a powerful statement, which underscores the breadth of the Commissioner’s authority and, in turn, gives the NFL the ability to push for a major concession at the bargaining table if/when the NFL Players Association decides to continue to push for third-party arbitration in all cases."

So what does that mean for us?

The two-to-one vote of the three judges definitely makes it harder for Brady and the NFL Players Association to prevail.

“The NFLPA is disappointed in the decision by the Second Circuit,” the NFLPA said in a statement. “We fought Roger Goodell’s suspension of Tom Brady because we know he did not serve as a fair arbitrator and that players’ rights were violated under our collective bargaining agreement. Our Union will carefully review the decision, consider all of our options and continue to fight for players’ rights and for the integrity of the game.”

Per Florio, the options at this point are fairly narrow: Continue the appeal process or end the case.

If the appeal continues, the first step will be to file a petition for rehearing before the entire Second Circuit. If the 14 eligible judges (13 active judges and the one senior-status judge who was assigned to the case) choose not to accept the rehearing — or on rehearing to keep the suspension — the fight would move to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the first challenge will be to get the highest court in the land to take the case. And that will be a long shot.

If further appeals are pursued, the biggest question becomes whether the suspension will be stayed.

"If it isn’t," Florio explained, "the ultimate outcome in court won’t matter; he’ll miss the first four games of the 2016 regular season. If the suspension is stayed, Brady wouldn’t be suspended until the process has ended — and given the speed with which the justice system moves (or doesn’t), he could be retired by the time all appeals officially have been exhausted."

All that being the case, it's worth noting the Patriots open the season at Arizona on Sept. 11 in a marquee game selected for NBC’s Sunday Night Football. They follow that with a home game vs. the Dolphins, a Thursday night game vs. the Texans, then a third consecutive home game vs. the Bills.

As PFT notes, that’s two division games and two games against teams that made the playoffs last season. The Cardinals and Texans games are national TV games, though a potential Brady absence due to this never-ending fight vs. the NFL still makes for compelling television.

Brady would be eligible to return Oct. 9 when the Patriots play in Cleveland. If the suspension stands, Jimmy Garoppolo will be the Patriots' QB of record until that game. While the Patriots appear to have considerable confidence in Garoppolo, Rob Gronkowski's production and fantasy value could take a hit. The team could also rely more heavily on the rushing attack in Brady's absence. That will make any moves at running back in the upcoming draft of greater interest.

It might also put the team in the market for a veteran backup to get them through that first month.

Whatever the case, we'll all be watching this situation closely and I'll be following up regularly. Watch the News & Views sections for any breaking items of interest and the Headline News section for more in-depth analysis when appropriate.

A few final notes here. ... The league issued the following statement regarding Monday's decision: "We are pleased the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled today that the Commissioner properly exercised his authority under the collective bargaining agreement to act in cases involving the integrity of the game. That authority has been recognized by many courts and has been expressly incorporated into every collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFLPA for the past 40 years."

And finally. ... Brady re-did his contract recently with this possibility in mind. He'll now lose just over $200,000 in salary instead of $2M. But as Rapoport noted, it's the games Brady cares about.