The NFL has suspended New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for the first four games of the 2015 season as punishment for his role in deflating footballs in the AFC championship game and the team was fined $1 million and docked two draft picks as part of the discipline.
The league released a statement detailing the punishment on Monday and the NFL also said that two staffers working for the Patriots in equipment were suspended indefinitely. The Patriots were stripped of draft picks, with the league taking their first round pick in 2016 and a fourth round pick in the 2017 draft. The league released the report into the deflated balls incident last week and the punishment came on Monday late in the afternoon.
Brady will be out until October for the Patriots unless his suspension is reduced on appeal, which is a possibility, according to ESPN.com. Brady will miss a home game against the Steelers that kicks off the season on September 10 and he will be able to return against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5.
The Colts, ironically enough, were the team to alert the NFL about the deflated balls and were the opponent in the AFC championship game. If Brady has his suspension reduced on appeal, he obviously will be back before the Colts game, but as it stands now, the Colts game will be the first time he is eligible to play.
According to ESPN.com, both Brady and the Patriots as a team can appeal the ruling and Brady will have to do it within three days if he wants to follow through with that process. Brady's agent Don Yee has come out hard against the investigation and he said that parts of the NFL's investigation into the incident was flawed. Andrew Brandt at ESPN
Brady can play in preseason games, participate in training camp and practice with the team even with the suspension and during that time he can workout at the team facility. The words "integrity" were used throughout the investigation and discipline and the league cited the integrity of the game and the past issues with the Patriots, including the Spygate incident.
Check here for the NFL punishment and more on Brady.
"With respect to your particular involvement, the report established that there is substantial and credible evidence to conclude you were at least generally aware of the actions of the Patriots' employees involved in the deflation of the footballs and that it was unlikely that their actions were done without your knowledge," NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent wrote in a letter to Brady, according to ESPN.com.
