The National Football League and the players’ union asked a federal judge in New York on Friday to decide by Sept. 4 whether to uphold Tom Brady’s four-game suspension, which could resolve the scandal over deflated footballs before the regular season starts.
The request by the N.F.L. Players Association on behalf of Brady, the New England Patriots quarterback, was a surprise. The union had been expected to ask Judge Richard Berman of United States District Court in Manhattan to delay any suspension until he could rule on its merits. The union also formally asked Berman to void the suspension, preserving its legal options even as it agreed that resolving the matter before the regular season begins on Sept.