It took 18 months, but the Deflategate saga is finally over.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady announced on Friday that he will not appeal his Deflategate suspension to the Supreme Court.
According to ESPN, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Brady’s latest appeal on Wednesday, which meant his only legal option left was to take the case to the Supreme Court. The Appeals court rejected Brady’s request to reconsider a decision from April that found that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell acted within his powers when he suspended Brady an the suspension was reinstated . Brady announced that he’s not taking the case to the Supreme Court on Facebook.He will serve the suspension at the start of the upcoming season.
"I'm very grateful for the overwhelming support I've received from Mr. Kraft, the Kraft family, coach Belichick, my coaches and teammates, the NFLPA, my agents, my loving family and most of all, our fans," Brady wrote. "It has been a challenging 18 months and I have made the difficult decision to no longer proceed with the legal process. I'm going to work hard to be the best player I can be for the New England Patriots and I look forward to having the opportunity to return to the field this fall."
Brady was suspended for four games after it was found that he was generally aware that the Patriots were using underinflated footballs in the 2015 AFC Championship game. He appealed the suspension but it was upheld by Goodell. Last September, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman overturned the suspension, however, it was reinstated in April.
In February, Brady signed a two-year contract extension with the Patriots. He has a 172-51 record, is 22-9 in the playoffs and has won four Super Bowls. Jimmy Garoppolo will be the Patriots quarterback for the first four games of the upcoming season.