Tom Brady, NFL Fail to Reach Settlement on Deflategate Suspension

The Deflategate saga between New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the NFL continued Monday, with the NFL Players Association and the league failing to reach a settlement.  

The judge presiding over the case, Richard Berman, announced, "We did not reach a settlement. The parties tried quite hard I think," per Stephen Brown of the New York Daily News.

Both Brady and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell were in court Monday, with Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports noting the two men were standing "feet apart and made sure to never look at each other. Neither appeared in a good mood."

Judge Berman added, "In some cases (a settlement) doesn't happen. This is one of those cases."

Prior to the proceedings, the two sides met for 40 minutes, before Berman thanked them for their efforts, per Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports. After that, the entire hearing took four minutes, per Andrew Siciliano of NFL Network. "NFL never made formal settlement offer, but indicated willing to cut suspension to 3 games if Brady admitted DeflateGate guilt," tweeted Gary Myers of the New York Daily News.

The clock is ticking now. Per NFL reporter Albert Breer, Brady won't be able to report to work on Sept. 5 if there isn't a settlement or a ruling in this case, barring an injunction. Berman did make it a point to say he would rule on the case in the next day or two, however, and "certainly before Friday."

He'll ultimately be deciding whether to uphold the four-game suspension Goodell issued Brady for his role in the Deflategate incident, or to nullify that decision. That ruling is unlikely to end litigation, because, as Rachel Axon of USA Today reported, the losing side is expected to immediately file an appeal with the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.