And where is the actual evidence that J & M deflated the balls?
There is no admission and the balls had no deflation as shown by the IGL.
None of that will matter unless they end up in court.
But, the only party to this case that really, really, really wants to go to court is the NFLPA, since its agenda is to undo what it foolishly negotiated in the CBA.
The NFL sure as hell doesn't want to go to court because it will likely get creamed.
Brady wants to be exonerated in unequivocal terms of having had anything to do with the deflation that (absurdly) never occurred. If he gets that, his incentives to go to court all hinge on the games that the NFL will try to play around the penalty for not co-operating with the Wells investigation.
The indications are that the NFL seems to know that it has to completely exonerate Brady if it's not going to end up in court, but wants to save face by penalizing Brady for not fully co-operating with the investigation (********, yes, but that's what it wants). Their problem is that the precedent is a $50,000 fine for a similar infraction by Brett Favre.
So, the game now seems to be, how much of a penalty will Brady accept for non-co-operation without feeling he has to take the risks inherent in any court proceeding. The odds are good that Brady would prevail in court, but you never know when it comes to going to court. There are always risks.
So, where's the tipping point in Yee and Brady's mind at which accepting the risks of going to court by an exonerated Brady outweigh accepting the penalty imposed for non-co-operation? That's going to be the million dollar question.
Aside from the whole thing going away, the ideal solution from Brady's perspective would be Favre's $50,000, but the CBA apparently allows the NFL to fine him up to $250,000, which is more or less pocket change for himself and Gisele. Meantime, the League is clinging to the hope that they can get him to accept a one or two game suspension for said offense.
The NFL seems to be negotiating this in the media through Gary Myers and, to a lesser extend, Florio.
I think it's all going to come down to a game of chicken between Yee and Goodell at the end, but I don't think it's going to court.