Efforts by the NFL Players Association to strike a deal with the league to reduce or eliminate the four-game suspension of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady have been ignored by the NFL.
ESPN reported Thursday that the players association last week extended an offer to the league, but the NFL did not acknowledge the offer.
Brady and the NFLPA plan to challenge the suspension in court if commissioner Roger Goodell doesn’t rule favorably on the quarterback’s appeal of the punishment tied to investigator Ted Wells’ findings in the Deflategate scandal.
Wells ruled that “more likely than not” Brady was at the very least aware of two team employees intentionally reducing the PSI of game balls in the AFC Championship game.
Goodell denied the union’s request to recuse himself as arbitrator in the appeal.
Tuesday, he said there is no timeline to rule on the appeal, which took place June 23 in New York. The Patriots report to training camp next week.
Despite a pending suspension, Brady was the top-selling NFL player last fiscal quarter, according to the NFLPA.
Merchandise in Brady’s name topped the list of sales from March 1 through May 31, the first time Brady has held the No. 1 spot since the rankings’ inception in 2012, the NFLPA said in a release Thursday.
Brady, who led the Patriots to victory against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, displaced Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson from the top spot. Wilson was the No. 3 seller behind San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning rounded out the top five.
The rest of the top 10 included Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and the top two picks in the 2015 draft, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston and Tennessee Titans QB Marcus Mariota.
The list is based on overall sales of all licensed products from online and traditional retail outlets.