Tom Brady’s NFL Four-Game Suspension Scrapped

Judgement day has arrived for the NFL and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

After more than seven months of bickering about deflated footballs, a federal district court judge has rendered a decision. Judge Richard M. Berman ruled today that Tom Brady’s four-game suspension by the NFL will be vacated. In layman’s terms, Tom Brady, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, will be on the field for the season opener on September 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

With the judge’s decision, they are dancing in the streets in Foxboro and the NFL Commissioners Office is nursing another black eye. To be clear, Judge Berman’s decision was not about whether Brady deflated or ordered footballs to be deflated. It was about process and procedure. According to Judge Berman, the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and the NFL’s players union did not give NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell the authority to suspend Tom Brady.

The National Football Players Association (NFLPA) released a statement in reaction to Berman's ruling and the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement:

“The rights of Tom Brady and of all NFL players under the collective bargaining agreement were affirmed today by a Federal Judge in a court of the NFL’s choosing. We thank Judge Berman for his time, careful consideration of the issue and fair and just result.

This decision should prove, once and for all, that our Collective Bargaining Agreement does not grant this Commissioner the authority to be unfair, arbitrary and misleading. While the CBA grants the person who occupies the position of Commissioner the ability to judiciously and fairly exercise the designated power of that position, the union did not agree to attempts to unfairly, illegally exercise that power, contrary to what the NFL has repeatedly and wrongfully claimed.

We are happy for the victory of the rule of law for our players and our fans. This court’s decision to overturn the NFL Commissioner again should signal to every NFL owner that collective bargaining is better than legal losses. Collective bargaining is a much better process that will lead to far better results.”

Given that this case was not about Tom Brady’s guilt or innocence, Judge Berman had three options in this case: uphold the NFL’s suspension of Tom Brady; send it to an arbitrator or vacate the NFL’s ruling.

Judge Berman chose to vacate the NFL’s ruling. You can read Judge Berman’s ruling here.

So, to those who are rejoicing, celebrate now because the legal battle may not be over.

The NFL can appeal Judge Berman's ruling in this case to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. If so, the NFL could seek a stay of Judge Berman’s decision.