Seeing that a long, drawn out court battle could be detrimental to the shield, the NFL and NFLPA have agreed that a final verdict on Tom Brady’s suspension should be handed down before week one.
According to court documents obtained by CBSSports.com, the two sides have agreed to find a “final resolution” to the matter before the 2015 NFL season begins.
In a letter to Judge Richard Berman, lawyers for the two teams requested the matter be expedited prior to the Patriots first game on September 10, 2015. (In fact, they requested to have the matter done prior to September 4, 2015 for preparation purposes.)
“The NFLPA and Mr. Brady had intended to file a motion for a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction,” the parties wrote. “However, the parties met and conferred and have agreed that a final resolution of this matter prior to the commencement of the 2015 NFL regular season would be in everyone’s best interest.”
The two parties proposed the following schedule:
August 7: NFLPA and NFL cross move to vacate and confirm the suspension
August 14: Both parties file “respective papers” in support of those motions
The parties schedule a date for oral arguments that would “enable a decision to be rendered by September 4, when Mr. Brady’s team must prepare for its first regular season game.”
Rather than going after an injunction and trying to have Brady play while a suspension, both parties agreed that a resolution needs to be in place, thus not allowing the lawsuit to take away from the NFL opening kickoff.
