The Second Circuit Court of Appeals announced Tuesday that oral arguments in the case could begin as early as Feb. 1, 2016 — days before Super Bowl 50 is scheduled to be played and more than a year after the AFC title game between the Patriots and Colts that began the ordeal. Should the NFL win its appeal, which is considered unlikely, Brady would not face punishment until the 2016 season.
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The NFL filed its pre-argument statement earlier in September, detailing the legal strategy it plans to use to appeal U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman’s ruling that commissioner Roger Goodell acted outside the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement in suspending Brady.
Both the NFL and the NFL Players’ Association are seeking a resolution before the 2016 season begins. The sides could also reach a settlement that would end the litigation process.
Brady was originally suspended four games by Goodell to begin the 2015 campaign based on the findings of the Wells Report, which determined Brady was “at least generally aware” that football were deflated beyond NFL specifications. That punishment was overruled by Berman in August.
