Tom Brady Will Miss Four Games This Season

Via Facebook, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady posted a very big update.

The football star will no longer fight his deflate-gate suspension. Brady had received a four-game suspension over the deflate-gata saga almost 18 months ago.

Brady wrote: I’m very grateful for the overwhelming support I’ve received from Mr. Kraft, the Kraft family, coach Belichick, my coaches and teammates, the NFLPA, my agents, my loving family and most of all, our fans. It has been a challenging 18 months and I have made the difficult decision to no longer proceed with the legal process. I’m going to work hard to be the best player I can be for the New England Patriots and I look forward to having the opportunity to return to the field this fall.

Brady will be sitting out the Patriots’ first four games. These will be his first missed games since suffering a torn ACL early in the 2008 season.

The NFL will open up in Week 1 without Brady or Peyton Manning playing quarterback for the first time since the 1998 season.
Many fans are surprised by his Facebook update because Brady has the option to petition the Supreme Court for a stay on the ruling that went against him in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The NFLPA has supported Brady in his legal fight against the NFL and issued their own statement on the matter:

“After careful consideration and discussion with Tom Brady, the NFLPA will not be seeking a stay of the four game suspension with the 2nd Circuit. This decision was made in the interest of certainty and planning for Tom prior to the New England Patriots season. We will continue to review all of our options and we reserve our rights to petition for cert to the Supreme Court.”

Although Brady may have waved the white towel, the union’s statement indicates they haven’t closed the door on the Supreme Court option.

Brady has vehemently maintained his innocence in the matter of the deflated balls since the AFC title game in 2015 against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Patriots will soon be opening the season against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 and will follow that with three home games against the Houston Texas, the Miami Dolphins, and Buffalo Bills.

Brady will be able to play in Week 5 when the team takes on the Cleveland Browns. He’s allowed to practice and play with no limitations during the preseason up until Week 1.