Tom Brady may be willing to accept a harsher punishment as long as he doesn't have to accept blame.
Bleacher Report's Jason Cole said Friday that the NFL believes that the New England Patriots quarterback is willing to accept a suspension on the condition that he is not held responsible for the deflating footballs.
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"The league is of the belief that they will be able to get a deal done with Brady and be able to wear him down and get him to accept a deal that will include him missing games as a result of the Deflategate investigation," Cole says. "Now, exactly what Brady will agree to and the wording of that penalty is what will be interesting to see because he will want to have a denial that he had anything to do with the deflation of footballs and that ultimately this will be about him not cooperating with the league."
Cole went on to say that the NFL has gained some leverage because of the impending arrival of NFL training camps. Brady reportedly does not want to have any distractions lingering once camp starts.
Influential owners forcing Roger Goodell to keep four-game suspension against Tom Brady?
Ironically, Forbes is reporting that it believes Brady could win if the NFL upheld any part of his four-game suspension for his alleged involvement in the AFC Championship Game and the deflation of 11 of the 12 Patriots balls during their 45-7 blowout victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
It claimed that the league did not want to enter the "discovery" process of the court case, in which both sides can ask for documents, information and access to testimony from the other side.
"Here's the rub -- no one ever wants to give up information or documents," Forbes reported. "Evidence that is released to another party can be harmful to the NFL. Evidence could be harmful to Tom Brady. No one wants to give up anything that they don't have to."
"...While many believe that if Rodger Goodell were to back down from Brady, it would be an inherent sign of weakness in his leadership, the reality is that Goodell is too business savvy to lead the league down a rabbit hole that will only lead to a costly moral victory if they are successful."
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