Brady and Goodell Fail to Reach Settlement, Judge’s Decision Soon

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and New England quarterback Tom Brady could not come to an agreement in the appeal made by Brady of his suspension of four games for his alleged role in the now famous Deflategate scandal.

Judge Richard Berman from U.S. District Court announced on Monday that both sides would not settle this case, adding that he would announce his ruling as soon as Tuesday but no later than this Friday.

Judge Berman added that he would not release his decision Monday but said he hoped it would be Tuesday or Wednesday. He stated that he was putting his final touches on the decision.

The hearing took all of five minutes and Berman noted that senior executives from the NFL Players Association and the NFL who were not in attendance for several prior settlement talks joined more than one hour of negotiations early on Monday.

John Mara the co-owner and president of the New York Giants took part as did Jay Feely a free agent kicker, said Berman. Feely is one of the members of the executive committee of the union and Mara is the NFL executive committee’s chairman for overseeing labor issues.

Mara left court prior to the announcement by Berman and told reporters that no settlement had been reached.

The NFLPA and Brady did not reach a deal with the NFL and Goodell during last minute talks for a settlement meaning Berman will decide if Brady serves his suspension or not.

Feely while outside of court said the two sides attempted to reach a settlement but failed. He thanked the court and said this is a good example of how the league needs to have an independent arbitrator for issues of personal conduct.

However, Feely added that he and the NFLPA understand the position of Brady and think this process will work out.

Berman said he did not have any qualms with the willingness of either side to attempt to reach a settlement over the controversial Deflategate issue.

Goodell upheld the suspension of Brady following an appeal in July and the league wants confirmation the case was handled appropriately by Goodell.

On the other hand, Brady wants the four-game suspension nullified and has disputed the ruling repeatedly.

Both Goodell and Brady were ordered to attend the hearing Monday and both arrived over 90 minutes early and met in the judge’s quarters to try to reach a settlement.

Berman has sighted some weaknesses in the NFL’s handling of the controversy, while saying a settlement would have been the logical and rational thing to do.

Berman called the finding by the league vague that the Patriots quarterback was generally aware the balls were deflated.