Mike Florio seems to think that could be the case. BUT GOD DAMN!! How much more cynical will Deflategate become?! Will
anyone ever come out, take a principled stand, and do what's right? I swear, if Brady so much as
dare to compromise with Kim Jong Goodell, I don't know if I'll ever recover!
God forbid it ever comes to that
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/28/could-a-deal-be-done-in-the-tom-brady-case/related/
Florio's comments and Gary Myers' (NY Daily News) articles the day after the Appeal and again in Sunday's paper are so similar in tone that they suggest that the NFL is floating trial balloons in an effort to find a way out of the mess in which it finds itself. Both Florio and Myers acknowledge that Brady will have to be exonerated and they both suggest the fig leaf of some penalty for non compliance as a way out for Goodell.
I think Goodell was genuinely blindsided by how bad the Wells report was. Myers suggested complete exoneration on the underlying "crime," but two games for failing to "fully co-operate" (whatever that means) with Wells. But, just as quickly as he wrote that sentence, he immediately added that the problem with that was the most recent precedent is the $50,000 fine to Favre for a similar "offense."
It's interesting that both Florio and Myers assume that Brady will be (has to be?) exonerated of complicity in the fabricated "scheme" to deflate the balls. They are both well connected to 345 Park (especially Myers) and this is probably coming from from the horse's mouth. The League knows it will lose on this point in any court.
So, what is the shape of a compromise that exonerates Brady and enables the League to save what little face it has left?
I don't see Brady accepting two games, but I could see him taking one game or the $250,000 max just to get this over with, as long as Yee gets to do a final edit of the paragraph that exonerates him.
I could see Brady accepting that because "anything can happen" once you get to court and both Yee and Brady know that if he gets the wrong judge, the whole thing could blow up in his face. So, there is a tipping point at which that risk exceeds the benefits of taking an imperfect deal. In negotiating terms, I think that that's what both sides are now trying to find.
I also think that the League is using Myers (and now Florio) to drive a wedge between Brady and the NFLPA. Once Brady is exonerated, their interests are no longer completely in synch.