Maddie Meyer

Judge Richard Berman’s ruling in the Deflategate case allows Tom Brady to be on the field for Thursday night’s NFL opener.

Spencer Platt

Roger Goodell’s four-game suspension of Tom Brady is vacated by Judge Richard Berman last week.

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Amateur scientists and football fanatics wrote the federal judge in the Deflate Gate case quirky letters urging him to “please do the right thing” in advance of his closely watched decision.

Manhattan Federal Court Judge Richard Berman, who last week vacated Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for being “generally aware” of a deflated-football scheme in last season’s AFC Championship game, posted over 20 letters he’d received from concerned followers of the case Wednesday.

MYERS: BRADY AND PATRIOTS PUMPED UP FOR NFL OPENER

One New England Patriots fan, Liz Minnerly, suggested Berman “get a pump with a very good gauge,” wet some footballs and then put them in a refrigerator.

Another, Gretchen Sharp, wondered in a handwritten letter how a deflated football could be spiked in the end zone and bounce “about 5 feet or more.”

Larry Neumeister/AP

Judge Richard Berman entered 20 letters he received during the Deflategate case into the public record.

A teacher from Reno, Nev., Vanessa Ivelich, urged Berman to think about the example Brady set for children — and to rule harshly against the quarterback.

“How can teachers and coaches expect youngsters to abide by the rules of fair play when their favorite player doesn’t have to?” she pleaded.

Some tried to appeal to Berman’s legal instincts.

A Massachusetts lawyer, Steven Kramer, after providing an analysis of the case, wrote that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell “should be more reflective and ‘Remember the Titans,'” alluding to the feel-good football flick.

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Others suggested odd ways to resolve the dispute.

Liz Minnerly wrote that in the upcoming season each Brady touchdown should result in a donation of $ 170,000 to a charity chosen by the NFL and the Patriots.

One environmental chemist, Mak Saito, detailed a deflation experiment he did on the weekend — though he concluded his letter with a moment of clarity.

“Frankly, I should probably spend my limited energies on our studies of the oceans and our human society’s influence on them,” he wrote.

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Jets’ wide receiver Brandon Marshall says players either support Tom Brady, are ‘cowards,’ or think race played a role.

Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall thinks that players that wanted Tom Brady’s suspension to be upheld are “cowards” and that some NFL players believe the Deflategate discipline may have been influenced by race.

Marshall, appearing on his weekly spot on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL,” said players he has spoken to have had three different reactions to DeflateGate.

“No. 1 is the fighter. I think there’s guys that’s in the fight with Tom,” Marshall said. “When one player’s rights are upheld, then all players’ rights are upheld. It’s not about what he did if he’s right or wrong. It’s more about the process. Is it fair.”

“The second is cowards,” Marshall added. “I call ’em cowards. That’s the guys that are afraid to face Tom Brady. They want him suspended. I don’t believe in that.”

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“The last is the race card,” the receiver said. “There are a lot of players out there that believe white players, specifically at the quarterback position, are treated differently.”

Marshall was then asked by Boomer Esiason if players believe that if Deflategate had involved Cam Newton instead of Brady, that the suspension would have been upheld.

“Well when you look back at the history of the sport, you can build a case on that, yes,” Marshall said.

Marshall reiterated that these thoughts were based on conversations with other players.

Do they believe there’s a different standards for white players vs. black players?

“Absolutely,” Marshall said. “At times.”

And a different standard with regard to discipline?

“At times, yes,” he said.

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Tom Brady (c.) gives just enough answers to the media in his first session with the press since the Deflategate ruling.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady may have won his Deflategate appeal, but on Sunday, the Patriots quarterback looked defeated. Seven months of unrelenting scrutiny can do that to a man, even the Golden Boy with four Lombardi Trophies. 

At his locker in Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Brady addressed the media and answered questions for the first time since Judge Richard M. Berman overturned commissioner Roger Goodell’s four-game suspension in an arbitration appeal hearing.

Digging his hands into the front pocket of a navy blue team hoodie, Brady put Deflategate to rest, sounding weathered but relieved to finally move on.

“It’s obviously been a long seven months for everybody, but I think now the goal is to focus on what my job is and what I need to go out there and do to help our team win,” said Brady, who will be in the field for the NFL season opener against the Steelers on Thursday night. “Everything that’s happened over the past seven months, obviously I had a lot of personal feelings, but I really don’t care to share many of those. I really care to think about what I need to do going forward.”

The aftershocks of this scandal, though, may continue to resonate through the lives of all those involved, including John Jastremski and Jim McNally, the two suspended Patriots employees charged with tampering with the now infamous AFC Championship Game balls.

Brady refused to comment directly on whether he’s been in contact with Jastremski, an assistant equipment manager, or McNally, a game-day assistant. But the pressure he and the employees have experienced is deep-seated.

“It’s been a very tough situation for everybody, and it’s put a lot of stress on everybody’s families, and I feel bad that anybody’s in the position that we’ve been put in,” Brady said. “Hopefully we can just keep learning from life experiences, and I certainly feel terrible for them that they’re not able to be with us right now.

“They’ve been, obviously, put through a lot, as my family has. And I think that’s a challenging part.” 

The stress Brady refers to is likely related to his marriage to supermodel Gisele Bundchen, which has reportedly been unraveling amid the tensions of the offseason — officially sanctioned reports, announcements, suspensions, appeals, hearings and unprecedented nationwide media attention.

“You’ve got to always figure out how to overcome different obstacles you face. And part of it’s being mentally tough and part of it is compartmentalizing things and dealing with things when they’re really kind of at the forefront. And then when they’re not, you’ve got to put them someplace else and think of what your job is,” Brady said. “That’s a lot of what I’ve learned over the years playing this position. And certainly any time you’re somebody that’s in a public eye like I am, you deal with different things. And I think everybody in their life deals with different stresses, whatever they may be — financial or family stress or work stress. And you just do the best you can do.”

It’s worth noting that the process is not officially over. Goodell vowed to appeal Berman’s decision in a statement, to which Brady responded, “That’s their choice.”

That appeal will take months if not years. And the scandal that never ends will drag on. But at least Brady will be back on the field Thursday, when the Patriots will honor last year’s Super Bowl victory with a banner.

And after winning in the courtroom, Brady will once again have a chance to win on the field — no matter what he’s endured this offseason.   

“I love football, I love this sports and I love playing in the NFL,” Brady said. “For the last 20 years I’ve been playing football this time of year, and it feels good to be able to do that again.”  .

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Tom Brady has worked with the first-team offense throughout training camp despite not being sure until Thursday if he would be able to play for the Patriots when the season opens next week.

FOXBOROUGH – Patriots coach Bill Belichick won’t call it a comeback.

Asked for his thoughts regarding U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman’s decision to lift quarterback Tom Brady’s four-game suspension due to Deflategate, Belichick asserted nothing had changed in his mind.

“He never left,” Belichick said.

Brady departed Gillette Stadium Thursday night before the Patriots fell to the Giants, 12-9, in the preseason finale, but he will be under center for the start of New England’s fourth Super Bowl defense Thursday when Pittsburgh comes to town. He took snaps with the first-team offense throughout training camp and played in the first three preseason games.

New York Daily News

Daily News back page for Sept. 4, 2015

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Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels welcomed the certainty following months of speculation about Brady’s ban.

“I’m happy for Tom, and this week, hopefully, we’ll be able to focus on just football,” McDaniels said. “And he’ll be able to do that, but quite honestly, it hasn’t changed a whole lot of what we’ve done up to this point.”

Winslow Townson/AP

As usual, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick says little when he met with the media on Friday.

LUPICA: IT’S GAME OVER FOR ROGER GOODELL’S POWER TRIP

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced Thursday that the league will appeal Berman’s decision. He also does not plan to attend the Patriots’ season opener when the team will raise its Super Bowl banner to celebrate beating Seattle in February.

Brady has yet to comment since the ban was lifted. He kept a low profile during the offseason and into training camp, allowing the legal process to play out as he made multiple court appearances in lower Manhattan.

“Tom’s a veteran player with a lot of experience, and he’s had to deal with different types of adversities and distractions in the past, whether it be injuries or personnel or something else,” McDaniels said. “I thought he went out and practiced and improved, tried to do his job, worked at his craft and put in a lot of hard work in different areas of playing the position of quarterback. He was prepared, studied hard for practice and games, the OTAs, and all those things we’ve done. That’s the best way to try to go about – control the things you can control – and I thought he did a good job of that.”

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Thursday’s Deflategate ruling assures Tom Brady (c.) starts for the Patriots in Week 1, all but ruining backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo’s chance to prove himself this season.

Judge Richard Berman’s nullification of Roger Goodell’s four-game suspension of Tom Brady is a massive win for the Patriots, but it’s not welcome news for all. Here’s a look at some of the winners and losers from Thursday’s ruling.

WINNERS

Tom Brady: Brady is vindicated and gets to take the field from the start of the season. Hey, maybe now after a reported strain in their relationship, all will be right with him and Gisele again.

NBC: As if opening night of the NFL season couldn’t get any bigger, the Peacock likely will get even more viewers for the first game of the season next Thursday. A victorious, motivated Brady playing on opening night after beating the NFL in the courtroom is too intriguing to ignore.

New York Daily News

Friday’s Daily News back page as Tom Brady is victorious in his battle with Roger Goodell. 

Fantasy football players: Those who have already selected Brady in fantasy drafts probably got great value in the middle rounds on the assumption he would miss the first four games. You all now have a potential top-five fantasy quarterback who was drafted much later than he should’ve been and will be playoff-bound, if you didn’t screw up the rest of your draft.

NFLPA: Good job, Jeff Kessler, DeMaurice Smith and Co. A win for players’ rights. Now maybe you can try to do something about the alarming number of players who are getting arrested. Anything that doesn’t involve a “fall guy.”

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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s (c.) already-tarnished reputation takes yet another blow.

LOSERS

Roger Goodell: How many times does the NFL commissioner have to fail before his role as chief disciplinarian is taken away? Perhaps it’s time for Goodell to take his (deflated) ball and go home.

The Steelers, Bills, Jaguars and Cowboys: New England’s first four opponents now have a much taller task with Brady free to take the field. Somewhere in Western New York this weekend, Rex Ryan will queue up tape from Jan. 16, 2011, when the then-Ryan-led Jets beat Brady and the Pats in the AFC divisional playoffs. Speaking of the Jets . . .

The Jets: They just can’t catch a break (except the one to Geno Smith’s jaw.) Their perennial quest to knock New England from its perch atop the AFC East takes a hit with Brady playing the first four games instead of . .

Jimmy Garoppolo: The second-round pick in the 2014 NFL draft misses out on a chance to show the world what he’s made of, perhaps improving his chances of succeeding Tom Brady or increasing his trade value. Enjoy the bench, kid.

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Tom Brady notches his first win of 2015, as Judge Richard Berman rules in favor of the Patriots quarterback and nullifies the 4-game ban handed down by Roger Goodell in the Deflategate saga.

Tom Brady is free to play football.

In a stunning ruling overturning NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s four-game suspension of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for his role in Deflategate, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman sent a stern message to Goodell and the NFL: The commissioner’s seemingly limitless powers can be benched.

“Based upon the foregoing and applicable legal authorities, the Court hereby denies the Management Council’s motion to confirm the Award and grants the Players Association’s motion to vacate the Award, thereby vacating the four-game suspension of Tom Brady immediately,” Berman wrote in the opinion, which was posted mid-morning on PACER, the government’s posting site. 

TOM BRADY BEATS ROGER GOODELL: THE BEST DEFLATEGATE MEMES

Brady’s appeal of his suspension represented a battle in a larger ongoing struggle between the NFL and its Players Association over the broad authority the collective-bargaining agreement gives the commissioner to discipline players, and sports law attorney Jay Reisinger said Berman’s decision will have a deep impact.

“I’m not surprised at all,” said Reisinger, who has represented numerous pro football players in arbitration cases and had predicted that Berman would overturn the suspension because the legal arguments were “simply superior” to those laid out by the NFL.

“There’s going to be more pressure on Roger Goodell to reform the league’s discipline system,” Reisinger added. “I think Judge Berman’s ruling could have a significant impact on how the NFL applies its disciplinary policy and rules in the future.”

DEFLATEGATE: A COMPLETE TIMELINE OF THE PATRIOTS SCANDAL

NFL.com reported that the league will not seek an injunction to bar Brady from taking the field for the Patriots’ Sept. 10 season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the NFL is expected to file an appeal asking the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the ruling, an uncertain process that could drag out for months.

Berman acknowledged that courts have traditionally been reluctant to overturn arbitrator’s decisions, but said the NFL dropped the ball in the Deflategate case by failing to inform Brady that he could be suspended for a quarter of the regular season for his role to deflate footballs before New England’s blowout victory against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game on Jan. 18.  

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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell exits Manhattan federal court on Aug. 31.

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Berman said Brady’s arbitration hearing, which was overseen by Goodell, was flawed, too.

“The Court is fully aware of the deference afforded to arbitral decisions, but, nevertheless, concludes that the Award should be vacated,” Berman wrote. “The Award is premised upon several significant legal deficiencies, including (A) inadequate notice to Brady of both his potential discipline (four-game suspension) and his alleged misconduct; (B) denial of the opportunity for Brady to examine one of two lead investigators, namely NFL Executive Vice President and General Counsel Jeff Pash; and (C) denial of equal access to investigative files, including witness interview notes.”

In other words, Bill Belichick is free to start his star quarterback when the Patriots take to the field to defend their Super Bowl title next week.

“Players’ rights win again,” NFLPA spokesman George Atallah said on Twitter.

The ruling comes three days after Brady and Goodell were last summoned to Berman’s courtroom in lower Manhattan, where the judge had pushed the parties for weeks to reach a negotiated settlement, warning each party repeatedly that the losing side would not be happy with his ruling.

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Miflord, Mass. residents Ryan Desilets and Jon Harmon show support for Tom Brady at a ‘Free Tom Brady’ rally at Gillette Stadium on May 24.

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Tom Brady has his four-game ban thrown out by Judge Richard Berman.

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Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

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Patriots QB Tom Brady leaves Manhattan federal court after a hearing.

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Neither man testified Monday but Berman already had heard extensively from both sides in the case in a series of briefs and oral arguments. As the Daily News reported Monday night, the NFL is believed to have offered Brady a one-game reduction to the suspension with the condition that he admit guilt in the long-running dispute. Brady was reportedly willing to accept a fine or possibly a one-to-two game suspension but was only willing to admit that he did not cooperate fully with the NFL-commissioned investigation led by attorney Ted Wells.

The showdown over Brady’s penalty comes seven and a half months after the AFC Championship game and the first allegations that the Patriots had deflated footballs in order to give Brady an advantage. The league began investigating the matter at the game, which the Patriots won 45-7.

In May, the NFL released a report prepared by Wells which concluded that based on interviews and other evidence, team personnel had deliberately deflated footballs below the legal limit after game officials had already tested and approved the balls.

“We also do not believe that they would personally and unilaterally engage in such conduct in the absence of Brady’s awareness and consent,” the Wells Report said, adding the claim that Brady had been unhelpful to the investigation by declining to make available any documents or electronic information. Goodell later revealed that Brady had declined to turn over his cell phone to Wells, saying he had destroyed in when he got a new phone.

Berman sharply questioned NFL lawyer Daniel Nash in earlier hearings, making it clear that he didn’t believe Wells had proved Brady knew the balls were being deflated, if they were deflated. Nash, under pressure from Berman, acknowledged at an Aug. 12 hearing that the NFL did not have direct evidence that Brady had played a role in DeflateGate.

Brady testified in the arbitration hearing on June 23, saying under oath that in the history of his career he “never thought about the inflation level of a ball.” The transcript of Brady’s testimony, along with 235 other exhibits, became public in early August as part of the federal lawsuit. 

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Tom Brady stretches during Patriots practice Tuesday.

FOXBOROUGH — Tom Brady and the Patriots await Judge Richard Berman’s impending DeflateGate ruling, but it was still business as usual Tuesday at tight-lipped Foxborough.

Brady participated in a full-pads practice, as any day now, Berman will rule to either uphold or toss out the Super Bowl-winning quarterback’s four-game suspension.

Berman issued an order Tuesday late afternoon stating that the court “anticipates” issuing its decision “by the end of the week.”

LUPICA: BRADY RUNS OUT CLOCK AS UNION AND OWNERS BATTLE

New England is preparing for Thursday night’s preseason finale against the Giants, and by that time, the team should know if backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo may need to go Week 1 against the Steelers. Though, either party could still appeal the decision.

Brady wasn’t made available to the media, but Bill Belichick & Co. did their best to repeatedly express how their focus is solely on football and not the goings on in Manhattan federal court.

The Patriots coach wouldn’t offer any advice to Judge Berman (“I’m really just focused on trying to get our team ready to go.”), and he wouldn’t bite when asked if it was difficult not having a starting quarterback.

“Now we’re practicing with all the players that are out there. We have good depth at that position,” Belichick said. “We have good depth at a lot of positions. Not everybody is out there. Players that aren’t out there won’t practice, obviously.”

MYERS: FATE OF TOM BRADY AND DEFLATEGATE IN HANDS OF JUDGE

Garoppolo may not have Brady’s resume, but Tuesday he certainly sounded like the two-time MVP, maintaining that the Patriots are “going about our business as usual.”

“Just getting ready for this next game against the Giants, taking it day by day and just going about our business,” Garoppolo said of their plans.

Wide receiver Danny Amendola added, “I don’t really read too many newspapers or watch too much TV, so it’s easy to ignore (DeflateGate) for me.”

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The Patriots have been peppered with DeflateGate questions for a while; the saga dates back to last season’s AFC title game win against the Colts, when the Patriots allegedly took the air out of game footballs.

On Monday, Berman announced that the NFL and the players’ union were unable to negotiate a settlement, which forces him to rule.

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Tom Brady is hoping a judge vacates his four-game suspension.

Tom Brady waited in a conference room on the 17th floor of U.S. District Court at 500 Pearl Street for Roger Goodell to finally make a serious and formal DeflateGate settlement offer to put an end to this seven-month national nightmare.

Brady and his bulldog attorney Jeffrey Kessler and the rest of the union lawyers were in one room Monday morning in Judge Richard Berman’s chambers in Courtroom 17B in lower Manhattan. Goodell and the NFL lawyers were huddling in another conference room. Berman was playing peacemaker going back and forth for 42 minutes trying to broker a compromise.

One source told the Daily News that the closest the NFL came to offering Brady a reduction of his four-game suspension was not much of a reduction at all. The source said Goodell’s people informally indicated the league would be willing to go down to three games as long as Brady admitted he was guilty of being the brains behind the tampering of footballs in the Jan. 18 AFC Championship Game against the Colts based on the Wells Report.

The NFL denies this was its offer, but would not elaborate on what was put on the table.

In any event, no deal.

Brady has sworn to those closest to him he didn’t order or know about any deflation of footballs and was only willing to accept a financial penalty, but no suspension, for not cooperating with Ted Wells.

Berman, who made it clear he never wanted to have final say in this case, announced there was no settlement, adjourned court after just six minutes and now will have final say. He said he could rule Tuesday or Wednesday but no later than Friday.

“I trust the court will give us a just result,” Kessler said.

Each side is taking a big risk by not settling because Berman will either vacate Brady’s suspension or keep it intact. There is no middle ground. The loser is expected to appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals as this case grinds it way through the judicial system.

If Berman rules against Brady, the union will likely file immediately for an injunction to put the suspension on hold until the Second Circuit hears the appeal. If the NFL loses, it is expected to appeal because it does not want this case setting a precedent that every time a player is unhappy with Goodell’s ruling as the appeals officer, it will run right to court.

“Tom is adamant as far as his innocence. He’s maintained his innocence and is not signing something that says otherwise,” one source close to Brady said hours after court adjourned. “He’s frustrated. It’s frustrating because not only is this such an asinine thing he’s going through, but when you believe you are innocent and you’re having your reputation sullied, we would all be pissed.”

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Tom Brady will not stop fighting for his image.

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Roger Goodell digs himself a hole by naming himself to hear Brady’s appeal.

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The DeflateGate saga works its way onto several Daily News covers.

Brady is a four-time Super Bowl winner and a three-time Super Bowl MVP and his place is secure as one of the greatest players in NFL history, and perhaps the greatest quarterback of all time, regardless of missing PSIs. The NFL has taken what at most was a misdemeanor and literally turned it into a federal case against the face of the league. It makes no sense.

The NFL never tested footballs at halftime of any previous game, so how does it know the missing PSIs were not normal for a January game in Foxborough? Anybody who drives a car in winter weather knows tires lose air pressure without a needle being stuck in it.

But without Goodell clearing Brady in a settlement agreement, he has to fight to preserve his reputation and legacy. Anybody who believes his championships are tainted because of footballs that may or may not have been intentionally deflated are simply Patriots haters — Bill Belichick has made this a standing room only club with a long waiting list — or are Brady haters because he has been very successful, has a supermodel wife and lots of money.

Berman was much harder on NFL attorney Daneil Nash than he was on Kessler in open court on Aug. 12 and Aug. 19. Perhaps he felt the NFL had a stronger legal position based on Goodell’s power granted in the CBA, but felt Brady’s punishment was over the top and, as a result, was trying to pressure the NFL into settling. Or perhaps he feels Goodell abused his CBA power based on flimsy evidence.

“The judge’s questions in court speak for itself,” one source said. “It is very favorable to Brady.”

At no time during any of the settlement talks over the last three weeks were the two sides ever in the same room, which means Goodell and Brady never were able to talk about happier times, such as when Goodell handed Brady the Super Bowl MVP trophy in February after he and Pete Carroll took down the mighty Seahawks.

Berman went to the extreme of summoning an executive board member from each side to attend Monday’s settlement talks. The NFLPA called in ex-Giants kicker Jay Feely, Brady’s former teammate at Michigan. They are so close that Brady was in Feely’s wedding party. The NFL called in Giants co-owner John Mara, who Berman requested weeks ago to help out but had been turned down by the league, citing a conflict of interest. Mara is considered a voice of reason and an NFL statesman. Not even they could help.

So, DeflateGate drags on.

Patriots fans have said no Brady, no banner, at the season opener Sept. 10 in Foxborough. Will Goodell attend the opener, as he usually does, or instead chose to attend the festivities in San Francisco the same day kicking off the Super Bowl 50 celebration? No answer yet from the league office, but he would probably receiver a warmer reception in San Francisco.

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U.S. District Judge Richard Berman announced Monday that he would rule on Tom Brady’s DeflateGate suspension this week after lawyers representing the NFL and the Players Association told him they were unable to negotiate a settlement.

The judge did not indicate how he will rule in the case but his behavior in court suggested that he has already made up his mind. Berman did not ask lawyers for either side any questions. He did say he would issue his ruling quickly, perhaps as early as Tuesday or Wednesday and no later than Friday.

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“We did not reach a settlement,” Berman said during a brief hearing in Manhattan federal court. “The parties tried quite hard, I think. In some cases (a settlement) doesn’t happen. This is one of those cases.”

According to a source, the NFL floated the idea to Brady’s camp of a reduced three-game suspension if he admitted DeflateGate guilt. The source said Brady refused to sign any document admitting he did something that he’s adamant he didn’t do but was willing to take a fine, but no suspension, for not cooperating. The Daily News reported Aug. 22 that the NFL was prepared to offer Brady a one- to two-game reduction in the suspension if he admitted guilt, a condition Brady was not prepared to accept.

Alec Tabak/for New York Daily News

Tom Brady is suing the NFL to have his four-game suspension overturned.

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NFL commisioner Roger Goodel hit Tom Brady with a four-game suspension for his alleged role in the Patriots’ DeflateGate scandal.

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Tom Brady (l.) and Roger Goodell arrive at Federal Court Monday morning for their hearing with Justice Richard Berman.

Berman could toss Brady’s suspension or uphold the Patriot quarterback’s four-game ban for his role in the scheme to deflate footballs before the AFC Championship Game against the Colts in January, sports-law attorney Jay Reisinger told the Daily News. If Berman rules for the NFL, Brady could ask Berman or an appeals court to stay his suspension until his appeal is heard, which may not happen until after the conclusion of the 2015 season.

“I’m sure the briefing papers are already prepared,” said sports litigation specialist Jason Bonk of Cozen O’Connor.

DEFLATEGATE: A COMPLETE TIMELINE OF THE PATRIOTS SCANDAL

Berman could also rule that the commissioner Roger Goodell did not follow the NFL’s collective-bargaining agreement with its union when he upheld Brady’s suspension at a June arbitration hearing, said Pittsburgh sports-law attorney Jay Reisinger.

The judge could then order the parties to conduct a new arbitration hearing with specific instructions about how it should be conducted, although Reisinger said he believed a new hearing is unlikely.

Berman met privately with both parties for about 40 minutes before Monday’s hearing. Brady and Goodell were both in court but did not speak during the hearing nor address reporters as they left the courthouse in lower Manhattan.

“I trust the court will give us a just result,” NFLPA attorney Jeffrey Kessler told the Daily News after the hearing. 

RELATED: JANE ROSENBERG UNVEILS NEW SKETCH OF TOM BRADY

Berman had asked John Mara to assist in the failed negotiations and he thanked the Giants owner as well as Players Association chief operating officer Ira Fishman and former Jets kicker Jay Feely, Brady’s Michigan teammate and a union official, for their efforts in the settlement talks.

Reisinger said it is unusual for a judge to ask a third party such as Mara to participate in settlement talks, and that he believed Berman had sought Mara’s role because the Giants official is respected by the players and has influence with Goodell and other owners.

Compared to the controversy that swirled around the NFL before the 2014 season, when the league was grappling with public outrage over the way it handles domestic violence and child abuse cases, the DeflateGate case seems to be more silly than substantial.

But Reisinger said it represented significant fissures betweem the league and the union in what is the nation’s most popular professional sport.

The Players Association would prefer to have an independent arbitrator handle disciplinary issues, while many owners prefer to keep that process in the hands of the commissioner.

“For us it reinforces the desire and the need for an independent arbitrator in these matters of personal conduct,” Feely said after the hearing. The NFLPA has argued that Brady was denied due process and basic fairness.

Berman asked the NFL’s attorneys pointed questions during two DeflateGate hearings earlier this month and forced league lawyer Daniel Nash to acknowledge during an Aug. 14 hearing that there is no direct evidence linking Brady to the DeflateGate scheme, spurring some legal experts to conclude that he will side with the NFL. The judge, however, warned not to read too much into his questioning. Judges often ask tough questions as a way to strengthen their decision, he said.

Both sides have asked Berman to decide on the case before Friday, six days before the Patriots’ season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.  

MOBILE USER? SEE BRADY AND GOODELL ARRIVE AT COURT HERE

With NATHANIEL VINTON, GARY MYERS

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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell leaves federal court recently after DeflateGate hearings.

An arbitrator has to screw up big time before a court can overturn a ruling, an attorney for the NFL argued in DeflateGate papers filed in Manhattan federal court Monday.

In a letter to U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, league lawyer Daniel L. Nash acknowledged that while courts have the authority to vacate arbitration awards in “extraordinary circumstances,” none of those circumstances “are present here.”

The NFL Players Association submitted to Berman last week a list of 19 decisions from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the Southern District of New York in which arbitrators’ decisions were tossed. But Nash argued that the cases cited by the union do not reach the high standard needed for Berman to overturn Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for his role in the NFL’s latest long-running controversy.

Nash said the Players Association “grossly distorts legal precedent.”

According to his letter, commissioner Roger Goodell’s decision to discipline the Patriots’ quarterback for a quarter of the regular season should only be tossed if he violated the essence of the NFL’s collective-bargaining agreement with the union or if Goodell failed to disclose a conflict of interest. Brady and Goodell are expected to return to Berman’s courtroom Monday.

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