The Deflategate drama may never reach a conclusion.
Tom Brady's ongoing battle with the NFL over his four-game suspension took its latest turn on Wednesday when a 2nd Circuit Court denied the Patriots' quarterback's appeal of the NFL's ban in Manhattan.
While it seems like this should be the conclusion of the saga, Brady is still mulling his next move, according to ESPN.
Brady has been under scrutiny since reports of him underinflating footballs during the NFL playoffs in January 2015 surfaced during a dominating AFC championship win over the Colts. New England went on to defeat Seattle in the Super Bowl that year, and while the issue has been around so long that the Broncos have been crowned new champions, it hasn't gone away.
After commissioner Roger Goodell announced the suspension, it was upheld in a 2-1 vote during Brady's first appeal. His second appeal was seen as his last good shot at getting it overturned, but the courts denied his push to lift the four-game ban.
"We wish the result were otherwise," lawyer Anthony Barkow told The Associated Press (per ESPN), "but respect and understand the decision and know that it is extremely rare for the Second Circuit to grant en banc review."
Brady's last chance through the NFL's Players Association would be to take his appeal to the Supreme Court, so this is likely far from over.
"We are disappointed with the decision denying a rehearing, as there were clear violations of our collective bargaining agreement by the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell," the NFLPA said in a statement issued Wednesday via ESPN. "Despite today's result, the track record of this League office when it comes to matters of player discipline is bad for our business and bad for our game. We have a broken system that must be fixed.
"We will review all of our options carefully on behalf of Tom Brady and all NFL players."
The Patriots open up their season against the Cardinals in Arizona on Sept. 11. If Brady's suspension remains intact, Jimmy Garoppolo will be under center for that game as well as the next three contests against the Dolphins, Texans and Bills.
Brady, who turns 39 in August, finished last season with a 64.4 completion percentage, while throwing for 4,770 yards with 36 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
