New England Patriots file brief in federal court supporting Tom Brady

The New England Patriots filed a brief in federal court Wednesday supporting quarterback Tom Brady, urging the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to rehear his case.

Brady is suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season for his role in Deflategate.

"The Patriots stand to lose their All-Pro quarterback for 25 percent of the upcoming regular season based on a severely flawed process," team attorney Daniel L. Goldberg wrote. "But the impact of the majority opinion is not limited to professional football. It threatens to undermine vital principles governing arbitration of collective bargaining agreements throughout the national economy."

The team also said the NFL-sponsored investigation was "a sham" and the Wells report, which said Brady was generally aware of the deflated balls discovered during the 2015 AFC championship game, was flawed.

"From the outset of this matter the League's conduct reflects less a search for the truth than pursuit of a pre-determined result and defense of a report which, despite no direct evidence of tampering or Mr. Brady's involvement, was relied on to impose penalties with no precedent or correlation to the alleged offense," Goldberg wrote.

A circuit court panel ruled 2-1 in April that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was within the rights of the collective bargaining agreement to suspend Brady four games after the suspension was first overturned by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman.