Judge Richard Berman has ordered Tom Brady, the NFLPA and NFL to engage in "further good-faith settlement efforts." But the league doesn't appear to be following his instructions.
The NFL may be asking Tom Brady to commit perjury as part of a DeflateGate settlement
The NFL is reportedly insisting Tom Brady admit guilt as part of any settlement agreement. From a legal and PR perspective, that is a non-starter.
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ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported Wednesday one of the NFL's conditions for a settlement is that Brady admits guilt and accepts the Wells Report's findings that he was "at least generally aware" of Patriots employees John Jastremski and Jim McNally's alleged efforts to deflate footballs prior to the AFC Championship game. CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora reiterated Mortensen's report Thursday.
But Brady is not in a position to admit guilt. If he did, he would potentially open himself up to perjury charges.
In his appeal hearing with the NFL in June, Brady denied under oath that he has ever spoken to any Patriots employee about tampering with footballs after he’s selected them.
Given how clearly Brady denied any knowledge of DeflateGate at the appeal hearing, asking him to acknowledge guilt seems to be a non-starter from a legal perspective -- never mind the PR hit he would almost certainly take if he accepted the Wells Report’s findings after fighting them for months.
Brady’s camp did concede some ground to the NFL in front of Judge Berman Wednesday. His attorney Jeffrey Kessler admitted Brady could’ve been more cooperative with Ted Wells’ investigation and said Brady wouldn’t be fighting the punishment if he was merely issued a fine for noncompliance. Kessler also said “it is conceivable” McNally thought deflating footballs after the referees had inspected them would be “good” for Brady.
But confessing that he knowingly played with deflated footballs in the AFC title game is a step too far for Brady. If the NFL continues to insist he admit guilt, the likelihood of a settlement seems to be non-existent.
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