To settle, or not to settle. That is the question for Tom Brady and the NFL heading into Wednesday's meeting with Judge Berman.
With Judge Berman pushing for a settlement before this thing goes to court, Tom E. Curran says it's time for Tom Brady to think hard about making a deal to put an end to the controversy that has consumed the news since January:
"This isn't about #DefendTheWall, #FreeBrady or any of that anymore. Exoneration, it's gone. Brady's side isn't even fighting on PSI anymore. It's all about procedure down in New York this week and the NFL feels unbelievably good about where it stands on that. Should they? There's experts who say they shouldn't. There's just as many who say they should. Believe this: Judge Berman wants a settlement and he's going to smash these sides together to make one.
"That means Brady has to give something up. Does he take a game? Does he take two games? He has to think about this long and hard because the punishment he knows is better than the prospect of the one he'll get if Berman's decision is to uphold the NFL's punishment. Look, Brady has way more to lose. If it stays at four, he loses the game. He loses the chance to mitigate the damage the NFL has done to his team in 2015. He also has mental health issues of waiting for a month and having this drag out, maybe be appealed again."