Earlier today, we heard that Tom Brady was headed to New York in order to be present for Wednesday’s federal court hearing with Judge Richard M. Berman. However, now it seems that Brady’s time in New York will be brief, and won’t include attending tomorrow’s meeting.
According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (via Twitter), Brady was in New York today to participate in settlement discussions regarding his case, but no progress was made. Pelissero suggested (via Twitter) that Brady had made the decision to rejoin the Patriots rather than sticking around New York, but Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweets that the Super Bowl MVP was told by Judge Berman that there’s no need for him to be there tomorrow, with settlement talks at a standstill.
Throughout the process, Judge Berman has encouraged the NFL and NFLPA to try to find common ground and reach a settlement, but that outcome always looked like a long shot. The league wants Brady to serve a suspension of some sort, even if it’s not his full four-game penalty, while the Patriots signal-caller is reportedly unwilling to accept more than a fine.
With a settlement looking increasingly unlikely, Judge Berman figures to eventually make a ruling on the case. Tomorrow’s hearing, which will take place without Brady, should help to provide a timeline for when Berman’s decision could come.
One of the less-discussed details of this saga is how it will affect Brady on the field. To have your name dragged through the mud, however deserved it might be, and to go through these long judicial ordeals where your employer is attacking you must be mentally draining. Whenever he does see regular season action, I wonder if it will take him any time to return to his usual form.
Good point. This hasn’t been mentioned much, perhaps because of how successful the Patriots were when the Spygate sanctions emerged. But to have the punishment directed at one player, particularly when he’s the most important cog on the team, should at least put a microscope on his performance this year.