Tom Brady Finally Brought to Justice

Brent HanowerTHE SANTA CLARAApril 28, 2016

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]om Brady has spent his entire career surrounded by controversy. Whether it be spygate or Deflategate, he always seems to be in the spotlight for reasons other than his four Super Bowls. However, with news that his four game suspension will be reinstated for his role in deflategate, this controversy may finally leave a permanent mark on his career.

If you still haven’t heard about the Deflategate saga, you’ve likely been under a rock for a year.

To summarize the situation, star quarterback of the New England Patriots, Tom Brady, was caught using a tampered with deflated football in a playoff game on Jan. 18, 2015. Brady also destroyed his own cellphone before the NFL could look into his text messages.

After months of investigation, the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell announced last year that Brady would be suspended for the first four games of the 2015 NFL season. As was expected, Brady decided to appeal the suspension. However, this internal review landed on Goodell’s desk, who upheld the initial decision.

The matter then turned to the United States courts. On Sept. 3, 2015, Judge Richard M. Berman decided to vacate the suspension on the grounds that the NFL did not give Brady due diligence. The situation seemed to be over–Brady the cheater would not be suspended for his actions.

However, the roller coaster continued on March 3, 2016, when a three-judge panel from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit voted to reinstate the suspension. As it currently stands, Brady will finally serve his four game suspension in 2016.

Brady, a wise cheater, has since reworked his contract to significantly reduce his pay for the season. As a result of the reworking, Brady will save himself a few million. Brady’s new contract reportedly called for an absurd $28 million signing bonus and a meager $1 million contract for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

His previous contract called for a $9 million salary, in which a four-game unpaid suspension would have cost him $2.118 million; he will now lose $235,294. As baseball continues to get scorched by the media under the never ending Performance Enhancing Drug era, cheating allegations in the NFL have been much less prevalent.

However, these events cast a new cloud of doubt over Brady and the Patriots four championships.One bright spot to the suspension is that Jimmy Garoppolo, the apparent heir to Brady’s job, will finally get an opportunity to display his ability.

Ultimately, it will cost Brady more than money; his cheating ways will deprive his team four games that could set them on a downward spiral. If he hasn’t already, Brady will need to use his savings to buy himself a new phone, although he’ll likely get that for free. The entire saga leaves me with one question: Who’s got smaller hands? Brady or hopeful Presidential Candidate Donald Trump.

Brent Hanower is a sophomore political science and history major.