Just when you thought Deflategate was over, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday reversed a federal judge's ruling from September.
The reversal now means Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will be suspended for four games, as initially ruled by the NFL.
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"We hold that the commissioner (Roger Goodell) properly exercised his broad discretion under the collective bargaining agreement and that his procedural rulings were properly grounded in that agreement and did not deprive Brady of fundamental fairness," the appeals court, based in New York, said in its 33-page ruling.
In the ruling, the appeals court doesn't argue about whether Brady committed the offense for which he was being punished. The ruling only focuses on whether Goodell had the authority to levy the punishment he saw fit.
"Here, that authority was especially broad. (Goodell) was authorized to impose discipline for, among other things, 'conduct detrimental to the integrity of, or public confidence in, the game of professional football.' In their collective bargaining agreement, the players and the league mutually decided many years ago that the commissioner should investigate possible rule violations, should impose appropriate sanctions, and may preside at arbitrations challenging his discipline. Although this tripartite regime may appear somewhat unorthodox, it is the regime bargained for and agreed upon by the parties, which we can only presume they determined was mutually satisfactory."
The four-game suspension came after allegations that Brady was aware of footballs being illegally deflated below the league standard. The Patriots were caught with underinflated footballs during the 2015 AFC championship game against the Colts.
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Brady has two courses of action to follow after this ruling. He can either ask for a re-hearing before the full 2nd Circuit or appeal to the Supreme Court. It's unlikely the Supreme Court would take this case, but it's a possibility.
In anticipation of that happening, the Patriots quarterback restructured his contract in March. He initially stood to forfeit $2,117,647 in salary, but now will just lose $235,294.
Barring further changes, Brady will miss the Patriots' first four games of the 2016 season: at Cardinals vs. Dolphins; vs. Texans; vs. Bills.
