The National Football League already indicated that it will not return the New England Patriots’ first-round pick that was stripped from the team following the whole Deflategate scandal.
With that one long shot now not part of the equation, a group of Patriots fans sued the NFL to recoup said draft pick.
Pretty much a Hail Mary in the first place, a federal judge completely shot down the suit (via the Boston Herald):
“After reviewing the complaint, it appears highly unlikely that plaintiffs will succeed on the merits of any of their claims,” the order read late Friday evening.
Judge F. Dennis Saylor continued:
“The Court is denying plaintiffs’ motion without the benefit of an evidentiary hearing or an opposition brief. However, the federal courts are courts of limited resources, funded by the taxpayers, and it would not be a prudent expenditure of those resources to permit the motion to progress to the hearing stage.”
In short, Judge Saylor indicated that it would be foolish for the court to spend resources on something so frivolous.
This means that the Patriots won’t have their first-round pick when the 2016 NFL draft comes calling late this month. Though, by virtue of the Chandler Jones trade, the team will have two second-round picks. Something tells us they will be just fine.