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Following up on the ongoing story. ... Tom Brady will not take DeflateGate to the Supreme Court, giving fantasy football owners clarity heading into the regular season.

The quarterback released the following statement on Facebook: "I'm very grateful for the overwhelming support I've received from Mr. (Robert) Kraft, the Kraft family, coach (Bill) Belichick, my coaches and teammates, the NFLPA, my agents, my loving family and most of all, our fans. It has been a challenging 18 months and I have made the difficult decision to no longer proceed with the legal process. I'm going to work hard to be the best player I can be for the New England Patriots and I look forward to having the opportunity to return to the field this fall."

That means Brady will miss the first four games of the regular season. Jimmy Garoppolo will make those starts (in Arizona for the season opener followed by three home games against the Dolphins, Texans and Bills) in Brady's absence. Brady will be eligible to make his debut Oct. 9 on the road against the Cleveland Browns.

Meanwhile, as Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio argued in an article published before Brady announced this decision, this approach was in the Patriots' best interests.

"Brady missing the first four games of the season can be planned for," Florio explained, "with a full and complete opportunity to prepare Garoppolo to run the offense to start the year. If Brady appeals to the Supreme Court and if Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stays the suspension and if the Supreme Court decides in October or November or December (or January) not to take the case, Brady suddenly will be gone for four weeks."

Florio added: "There's another benefit to not having Brady for the first four games. Restrictions on practice and contact have made it harder for offensive lines to prepare for Week 1. Much of the first month is spent ironing out the kinks. So why not spend that month with Brady not in harm's way?"

More to the point, it affords Belichick and his staff the same clarity it provides fantasy owners. Belichick has a greater chance to control things this year if he knows he won't have Brady to start the season and then will have Brady for the final 12 games and the playoffs than if he starts the year with Brady and potentially has Brady yanked away for a month at some random point on the calendar.

It makes sense. And it gives us the opportunity to better assess Brady's true fantasy value -- as well as bake that into the values of his supporting cast, including Garoppolo.