As the entire Deflategate battle continues in the courts following Monday’s ruling to reinstate Tom Brady’s four-game suspension, the NFL office could be facing a battle on a different front.
Two owners reportedly told Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole on Tuesday that the four-game suspension handed out to Brady is “too harsh.”
Those unnamed owners also concluded that several other team owners feel a one or two-game suspension is more reasonable at this point.
That’s all fine and dandy, but it’s not really up to the owners to make the decision here. Goodell made this clear when his office penalized the Patriots two draft picks and millions of dollars for their alleged role in the scandal.
He did so despite the fact that the Pats are owned by a close friend, Robert Kraft.
In the end, the owners will end up closing ranks with the league. There’s no logical conclusion that will include owners forcing the NFL itself to shorten Brady’s suspension.
And based on the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, the NFL Players Association is pretty much out of options.
The United States Supreme Court is unlikely to take on any collective bargaining issue, especially considering Goodell was granted the right to oversee arbitration back in 2011.
In the end, owners and union reps might not like how Goodell is using his power. But that’s the power he was given years back.