Brady Waiting On NFL Ruling Of His Appeal

While Patriots quarterback Tom Brady waits on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's ruling on his appeal of the discipline levied against him for his role in the deflated football scandal, he is not sitting idly.

Settlement negotiations -- which are an expected and common component of the appeal process for suspended players -- have occurred between the league and Brady's side, ProFootballTalk reports. The report states that progress toward an out-of-court agreement has been minimal and that the likelihood of such an agreement, in the event that Brady's punishment is upheld in full, is low.

Brady appealed his four-game suspension to Goodell, who served as arbitrator, on June 23. Attorney Jeffrey Kessler, who has had success taking on the NFL in other high-profile cases, led Brady's defense and said, "I think we put in a very compelling case."

Attorney Ted Wells -- whose report was used as the foundation for the NFL's decision to suspend Brady, fine the Patriots $1 million and strip them of a 2016 first-round draft choice and a 2017 fourth-round pick -- was present at the appeal hearing held at the league's New York offices.

The penalties were announced after Wells found that it was "more probable than not" that the Patriots illegally underinflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts on Jan. 18.