On May 11, the NFL suspended New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for the first four games of the 2015 season for his role in the "Deflategate" scandal involving underinflated footballs discovered during January's AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Need to know

• The NFLPA filed an appeal of Brady's four-game suspension on his behalf on May 14, criticizing the NFL's "history of inconsistency and arbitrary decisions in disciplinary matters, " and requesting the appeal be heard by a neutral arbitrator.

• The NFL announced on May 14 that Goodell will preside over Brady's appeal, the commissioner invoking his right to do so as stipulated in the CBA. "My mind is open," Goodell said in a statement on June 2 when he officially informed the NFLPA of his decision to hear the appeal.

• The appeal is reportedly set for June 23, and could also be continued on June 25 if the two sides need more time.

• Along with Brady's suspension, the Patriots were fined $1 million and must forfeit their first-round draft pick in 2016 and fourth-round draft pick in 2017.

• Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced on May 19 that the club "reluctantly" accepts the NFL's penalties, and will not launch an appeal with respect to the $1-million fine and draft-pick forfeitures.

• Goodell spoke to the media on May 20, saying Kraft's decision to accept the NFL's penalties will have no impact on Brady's appeal. "I look forward to hearing from Tom," Goodell said. "If there's new information ... I want to hear directly from Tom on that."

• The punishment for Brady and the Patriots came five days after the release of the Wells Report. The report declared it was "more probable than not" that Patriots personnel violated league rules by lowering the air pressure in game balls and that Brady was aware of the activities.

• Ted Wells, author of the Wells Report, defended his findings following the backlash after the Patriots' punishment was revealed. Wells shot back at detractors, saying "I think it’s wrong to question my independence because you don’t like my findings."

• Former NFL quarterback A.J. Feeley says he personally witnessed Brady and the Patriots using illegal footballs a decade before the "Deflategate" scandal.

• The Brady suspension has already impacted the gambling world. The Patriots dropped from a six-point favorite in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers to a one-point favorite, while their odds of winning the AFC East also took a hit.

• If Brady's four-game suspension is upheld on appeal, his first game back would come Week 6 against - oddly enough - the Colts.

Further Reading

• theScore's own Arun Srinivasan examines the need for the league to come down hard on both Brady and the Patriots. While the punishment may have been overly harsh, it proves no one, even a four-time champ, is above the rules in the NFL.

• Following a series of PR nightmares in relation to punishment doled out by the NFL (Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson), USA Today's Chris Chase argues the league finally got it right with Brady and the Patriots. [USA Today - For The Win]

• On the other hand, Yahoo Sports' Frank Schwab makes the case that the NFL royally screwed up, presenting five reasons - including the lack of evidence against Brady - the decision was "dead wrong." [Yahoo Sports]

• The MMQB's Peter King points out that the league wanted to show it doesn't play favorites by severely penalizing the Patriots. He also considers the impact of the situation on Brady's legacy. [The MMQB]

• Sports Illustrated's Greg A. Bedard makes the case for Patriots' owner Robert Kraft leading the charge to replace Roger Goodell as commissioner. “I really don’t see how Robert is going to get past this with Roger,” a Patriots source told Bedard. [Sports Illustrated]

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