Tom Brady, the NFL, and the NFL Players Association are scheduled to meet on Wednesday morning for a court hearing presided over by Judge Richard Berman. Before that session, however, Judge Berman would like to see the two sides re-engage in settlement talks.
Albert Breer of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter) that Judge Berman asked the two sides to “engage in further good faith settlements efforts today” before he meets with them tomorrow. Judge Berman intends to meet with counsel from both the NFL and NFLPA before tomorrow’s public hearing to get an update on their progress.
Despite the order from Judge Berman, don’t look for anything of substance to happen regarding settlement talks today, tweets Jason Cole of Bleacher Report. Mark Maske of the Washington Post spoke to several people familiar with the case who expressed a similar sentiment, suggesting that not much had changed since the two sides unsuccessfully attempted to reach a settlement earlier.
While Brady is extremely unlikely to agree to any settlement that would acknowledge he had any involvement in deflating footballs, he and the NFLPA may agree to a deal that penalizes him for a lack of cooperation with the league’s DeflateGate investigation. However, Brady and the union would likely push for a fine – rather than a suspension – in that scenario, which may not be sufficient for the NFL.
The NFL and NFLPA probably won’t reach a resolution today, but there’s hope that the accelerated court schedule will allow the case to conclude soon.