NFL commissioner says there’s no timeline for Tom Brady decision
Twelve days after commissioner Roger Goodell said a decision in the appeal of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s four-game suspension was coming soon, he said there is no timeline for a ruling.
Speaking at a fundraiser in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Goodell said, “We will make a decision as quickly as possible.”
Goodell said the league is being very thorough to consider all aspects of the appeal.
Goodell previously told CNBC last week from a tech conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, where Patriots owner Robert Kraft was also present, a decision “was coming soon.”
“There is no timeline,” Goodell said Tuesday. “We want to make sure we have a fair and open process.”
Brady appealed a four-game suspension on June 23 at NFL headquarters in New York.
Goodell said before the meeting with Brady that it would be important to hear directly from Brady his explanations for multiple curious aspects of the investigation into whether the team instructed employees — John Jastremski and James McNally — to take air out of game balls.
The NFLPA and Brady’s camp are planning to move their litigation to federal court if Goodell doesn’t wipe out the ban.
The investigation began after the AFC Championship game when 11 of 12 game balls tested at halftime of the Patriots’ win over the Indianapolis Colts were found to be below PSI minimums.
Investigator Ted Wells found that it was “more probable than not” that Brady was aware of the process.
Kraft, who chose not to fight team penalties — a $1 million fine and two draft picks docked — sent Goodell a signed affidavit supporting Brady for the June appeal.
