NFL Appealing Tom Brady Suspension Ruling: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

The NFL isn't going to let a district court ruling deter it from punishing New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for his potential role in Deflategate. According to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio, the league will lodge an appeal of Judge Richard Berman's decision to overturn the four-game suspension levied against Brady.

Three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will oversee the appeal, and only two will need to side with the NFL to nullify Berman's ruling.

Sports law expert Daniel Wallach provided the legal specifics of the NFL's appeal on his Twitter feed, highlighting this key piece from the league's case:

Writing for Sports Illustrated, Michael McCann argued the NFL will likely fail with its appeal, using a line of reasoning—essentially win percentage—any sports fan can understand:

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According to data I found through Westlaw's excellent judicial reversal report service, 138 of Judge Berman's decisions were appealed between 2006–15 and 104 of them (75%) were affirmed. Only 13 of those appeals (9%) led to the Second Circuit reversing or vacating Judge Berman's decision, with even fewer appeals leading to remand (which means a new hearing) or partial affirmation. Bottom line: Second Circuit judges seem to view Judge Berman, who has been a federal judge for 17 years, in high regard.

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Raffi Melkonian, an appellate attorney with Wright & Close in Houston, added more context to the NFL's strategy, per Rachel Axon of USA Today: "The way the NFL is going to approach it, it’s not about facts. What they’re saying is that Judge Berman erred as a matter of law by not giving the arbitrator’s decision sufficient deference. It’s not that Judge Berman got the facts wrong. It’s that he had no business dealing with the facts.”

Some might believe the NFL had to make this move in order to save face after Brady's suspension was wiped out. On the contrary, legal expert Dan Werly wonders if the league will only cause more harm:

Not only could the NFL be facing a major uphill battle with regard to its appeal, but Brady may be out of the league altogether if the appeal proves successful. McCann tweeted that a final decision from a judge might not come until a year from now, well after the 2015 season is over.

Brady is 38 years old and in the twilight of his NFL career. It's not outside the realm of possibility that he could retire at the end of this year.

Since a decision is unlikely until well into the future, at least fans should be spared the constant Deflategate discussion that has blanketed the sporting sphere over the last few months.