The mystifying force that is Deflategate continues with another twist.
Tom Brady may have been willing to take a one-game suspension over his lack of cooperation in the Ted Wells investigation as part of a potential settlement, NFL.com is reporting.
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That proposition never was declared because Judge Richard M. Berman told representatives of both Brady and the NFL that they were too far apart in their settlement talks to try to continue to hammer out an agreement on Monday.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has given Brady a four-game suspension for his role in the Deflategate scandal.
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The sticking point during the settlement talks remained the unwillingness on the part of the Patriots quarterback to accept the findings of the Wells Report or to admit guilt to any role in the deflation of footballs, which was discovered during the AFC Championship game between New England and Indianapolis on Jan. 18.
The Patriots won 45-7 in a game in which no one attributed to being influenced by deflated footballs.
Berman said Tuesday that he "anticipates" issuing his decision in the case by the end of this week, ESPN reported Tuesday. Berman had said Monday that the ruling "hopefully" would come (Tuesday) or the day after."
"The parties tried quite hard, I think," Berman said Monday of the settlement talks, according to reporters on the scene. "In some cases, [a settlement] doesn't happen. This is one of those cases."
NFL.com added that Brady has come to realize, and his lawyer Jeffrey Kessler has said publicly, that the quarterback should have been more cooperative with the Wells investigation team.
The NFL may have been willing to reduce Brady's suspension to two games in exchange for Brady accepting some sort of responsibility, but that offer never made it to the discussions, either.
However, the sides still could come to a settlement before Berman announces his decision, a source has told NFL.com.
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