The football world reacts to Tom Brady's suspension being overruled
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman nullified the NFL's four-game suspension levied against New England Patriots superstar Tom Brady on Thursday, a landmark decision that's set to reverberate throughout the football world.
The impact of the decision stands to be several-fold, and analysts, players, and others in the football community were quick to react:
Legal Impact / Precedent-Setting
Perhaps the biggest question coming from the ruling is what type of precedent it sets for future suspensions. The NFL lost as their punishment was deemed inappropriate, and it's possible the ruling could change the oft-criticized way in which the NFL handles discipline:
This is a huge win for Tom Brady, but even bigger win for NFLPA. Next time a player is suspended without real evidence, they'll go to court.
— Michael McCann (@McCannSportsLaw) September 3, 2015
NFL really only has themselves to blame as judge was only reviewing process with heavy deference to arbitrator. NFL's "process" is broken.
— Chris B. Brown (@smartfootball) September 3, 2015
NFL better be smarter about future suspensions or you're going to see more court challenges from suspended players.
— Andrew Abramson (@AbramsonPBP) September 3, 2015
Bounty gate, Deflate gate, Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson penalties all overturned. Time for the NFL to SERIOUSLY revisit their process
— trey wingo (@wingoz) September 3, 2015
NFLPA source on ramifications of #NFL losing Brady case: "Hopefully the owners will engage us in a process for meaningful change."
— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) September 3, 2015
The most immediate fallout may be the four-game suspension for Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy, whom the union had been "leaning toward" filing an appeal on behalf of:
Source said #Cowboys DE Greg Hardy will discuss appeal of 4-g suspension with #NFLPA now that Brady decision has been made.
— Jason Cole (@JasonColeBR) September 3, 2015
Source says #Cowboys DL Greg Hardy will discuss with union whether to appeal his 4-game suspension now that Brady overturned
— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) September 3, 2015
Power of Roger Goodell / NFL Process
The NFL's loss also raises further questions about the status of commissioner Roger Goodell, who Berman deemed to have disciplined unfairly. It also wound up being quite an expensive loss for the league:
"Goodell may be said to have 'dispensed his own brand of industrial justice.'" ouch. pic.twitter.com/c0tBzehb6v
— Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) September 3, 2015
One of the areas in which Judge Berman did not agree with the NFLPA and Brady was that Goodell was a partial arbitrator.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 3, 2015
Wells report cost NFL $2.5M-$3M. Combined estimate for legal counsel for NFL, NFLPA, Brady & Patriots top $10 million
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 3, 2015
The NFL has the option to appeal the ruling, though it remains unclear if they will:
Question now arises as to whether or not Goodell/NFL want to appeal.
— Christopher Price (@cpriceNFL) September 3, 2015
Don’t expect @NFL to seek an injunction to keep Tom Brady off the field as they appeal this ruling. Basically, he’s playing this season.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 3, 2015
Fantasy Impact
While its an ancillary consideration for those closest to the situation, there are a great number of fantasy players who may have drafted already. Getting 16 games of Brady is significantly different than getting 12 games, and when playing, Brady stands as a QB1 in all formats.
Before the ruling, Brady was ranked as the No. 14 quarterback by the FantasyPros consensus ranks, with theScore's Justin Boone ranking him 23rd. This could push him back into consideration for the top-10, but mostly it's a victory for those who took the risk on him in early drafts:
For those fantasy owners who picked Tom Brady late in drafts, what a bargain! https://t.co/WueM61sjao
— Michael Fabiano (@Michael_Fabiano) September 3, 2015
The ruling also renders Jimmy Garoppolo tough to draft, and it likely gives Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman an early-weeks bump.
Patriots Impact
While getting Brady back for four additional games is a major victory for the Patriots, Berman's ruling doesn't make it sound as if the punishments levied against the Patriots organization will change:
Berman vacated suspension on 3 grounds: Lack of notice, NFL's denying Jeff Pash interview, NFL's denying access to investigative files.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 3, 2015
No word yet on if @Patriots will get their first-round pick back or have $1MM fine waived.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) September 3, 2015
Along with improving the team's overall outlook over 16 games, getting Brady back led to a massive swing in the perceived quality of the Pats for Week 1:
The #Patriots host #Steelers the opening Thursday. NE was as low as -2.5 when Brady was in doubt. Pats now a 7 point favorite.
— Joe Murray (@JoeyMurr) September 3, 2015
Garoppolo, who has completed 76.3 percent of his passes and posted a 92.4 quarterback rating in the preseason, returns to an understudy role for 2015:
Posts about Jimmy Garoppolo's trade value in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurke_SI) September 3, 2015
Players, Alumni, NFLPA React
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 3, 2015
Teflon Tom ?
— Lance Briggs (@LanceBriggs) September 3, 2015
Players' rights win again.
— George Atallah (@GeorgeAtallah) September 3, 2015
Brady walks ,great day for NFLPA!!!!!??
— Lorenzo Neal (@LorenzoNeal) September 3, 2015
.@nflcommish loser
— Tom Crabtree (@itsCrab) September 3, 2015
— Brian Hartline (@brianhartline) September 3, 2015
Opinions aside, I'm glad a player got the best of the league.
— Ryan Grant (@RyanGrant25) September 3, 2015
Judge Berman....U know what u are ??? (D-Mac) pic.twitter.com/wHxc6cXGIR
— Devin&Jason McCourty (@McCourtyTwins) September 3, 2015
I declare this day meme Christmas
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) September 3, 2015