NFL not planning settlement talks with Tom Brady

The NFL does not plan to reopen settlement talks with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady after the four-game suspension was reinstated this week for his role in Deflategate.

A source told ESPN's Adam Schefter that the league does not believe the NFL Players Association or anyone from Brady's camp has provided a reason to renew settlement discussions after the suspension was upheld by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York on Monday.

Based on a 2-1 vote of a three-judge federal panel, the appeals court reversed a federal judge's ruling from September, siding with the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in a battle with the players union.

The NFL believes the time for those talks has come and gone, the league source told Schefter.

Goodell said Wednesday the league has "no more steps" planned.

"We think the decision was the right decision and it should have been the decision last year from the district court, and that's what the appellate court said. They reaffirmed our authority and the underlying facts of the case, so we think we came out in the right place," Goodell said Wednesday after a youth football clinic in Chicago on the eve of the NFL Draft. "We're not planning any more steps. We'd like to put the matter behind us and move forward."

Goodell declined to say he would not be willing to negotiate an outside settlement with Brady. The league and attorneys for the NFLPA engaged in talks for several months last summer, trying to reach a settlement in Brady's appeal of the suspension.

Goodell said future negotiations with the NFLPA regarding the discipline process are not off the table.

"We had a lot of discussions last year, but it was the determination by the court and they said it very strong," Goodell said. "We will continue obviously to negotiate with the union on the commissioner discipline issue, we've done that in the past and have made changes in the past. We're still open to doing that if there is a better system we're willing to negotiate those things."

Goodell said the league would like to move forward after the ruling.

"I think the most important thing from the ruling is that the judgment that the district court made last summer was incorrect. They obviously reversed that," Goodell told reporters Wednesday. "They reinforced our authority here, and they reinforced the fact that we have the facts correct, that it was a fair process and that we came to the conclusion that they supported. From our standpoint, we think that's the right decision and frankly should have been the decision last time."

Brady has 14 days to file an appeal after Monday's ruling. If an appeal is filed, the suspension is stayed. If the appeals court then chooses not to hear the appeal, the suspension would stand. If the appeals court chooses to hear an appeal to the decision made by the three-judge panel, the appeal would be heard by the entire 13-judge court.

The NFL originally handed Brady a four-game suspension for his alleged involvement in the deflation of footballs before the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts on Jan. 18, 2015.

In September, district judge Richard M. Berman vacated the suspension and Brady was able to play throughout the 2015 season.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft did not appeal the Patriots' $1 million fine and the loss of a first-round draft pick in this year's draft and a fourth-rounder in 2017 as part of the penalties.

Brady is now slated to miss games against the Arizona Cardinals (Sept. 11), Miami Dolphins (Sept. 18), Houston Texans (Sept. 22) and Buffalo Bills (Oct. 2). He would be eligible to make his regular-season debut in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 9.