Goodell can levy any penalty on a team. He [obviously] can levy a penalty on a player, then act as an impartial arbitrator. If he couldn't, we wouldn't all be here.
We are hoping, because the players have a union, that his succession of lies, leaks and arbitrary rulings will be found to violate the CBA.
But he, indisputably, cannot levy any 'legal' punishment he wants. He can say in a nicely worded and on NFL letterhead that Tom Brady will be executed at sunrise. I just want to know there is a viable legal remedy which clearly there is. With his prior punishment decisions smacked down, I interpret that to mean whatever 'power for punishment' decisions Goodell thinks he has, he in fact is limited by the CBA (either by CBA's wording or by its lack of wording). Ultimately these prior smackdowns say the wording of the CBA does not give you immunity from abuse of discretion (and they have determined abuse of discretion quite unfavorably for Goodell on at least one occassion).
So is the power to decide guilt equivalent to his power to decide punishment? Put another way, is 'deciding of guilt' and 'deciding of punishment' in the same paragraph or worded similarly, or are these different sections with distinctly different wording?
IMHO this is a massive! point for the upcoming court case. Will the judge say "the CBA and Precedent says I have the power to rule on the validity of level of punishment, however, the CBA is clear that Goodell can all but throw darts at a dart board to decide guilt. He has virtual absolute discretion".
If that is the case then this Brady lawsuit is a fight over degree, little more. Tom is legally guilty now and for all time. There is no remedy for that (which sucks!).
IMLO, abuse of discretion is the key for Brady and his legal team.....specifically abuse of discretion of 'deciding guilt'. If allowed to move forward it will mean a judge/authority will hear evidence on what Goodell used for his decision of guilt, what evidence Brady has to offer, maybe even the sleazy reeking backroom interactions of Goodell's brown shirts/office (all put on record). Maybe best of all, a judge simply ruling that Goodell's power for 'decision of guilt' can be overruled by a judge will be a BFD in the NFL office and just desserts for that crud.