Back to the New England Patriots Newsfeed

NFL files Deflategate brief, says Judge Berman 'vastly exceeded authority' in Tom Brady decision

Just when you almost forgot about Deflategate...

The NFL filed a brief in the case Monday, claiming that Judge Richard Berman "vastly exceeded" his authority in vacating Roger Goodell's arbitration award, which effectively wiped out Tom Brady's four-game suspension.

According to Sports Illustrated legal analyst Michael McCann, the "brief" is 59 pages. As McCann points out, the issue is no longer whether or not Brady "did it." It's whether or not Judge Berman found legal grounds to vacate Roger Goodell's initial award.

Similarly, Berman was not in position to declare Brady innocent, but rather to rule on whether or not Goodell, acting as the arbitrator, had broken one (or more) of the four grounds for vacatur.