Tom Brady Set to Appeal 'Deflategate' Suspension

The quarterback faces a four-game suspension.

ByABC News
June 23, 2015, 8:14 AM

— -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will hear quarterback Tom Brady’s appeal of his four-game “deflategate” suspension today.

The appeal hearing starts at 9:30 a.m. ET at the league’s headquarters in New York City.

The New England Patriots quarterback was suspended after a report by attorney Ted Wells found Brady was probably “at least generally aware” that his team’s footballs were deliberately underinflated for the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 18. The Patriots won that game, 45-7.

Goodell chose to personally oversee the appeal despite objections from Brady’s camp.

Wells will attend the appeal hearing, a league source told ABC News.

PHOTO: FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2015, file photo, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12)  passes against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half of the NFL football AFC Championship game in Foxborough, Mass.
FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2015, file photo, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) passes against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half of the NFL football AFC Championship game in Foxborough, Mass.

The hearing allows Brady the chance to present new information that could convince Goodell to reduce or nullify the suspension.

A four-page letter from union counsel Tom DePaso reveals the main points of Brady’s appeal. According to the letter, Brady’s counsel will contend that Goodell violated the league’s collective-bargaining agreement by delegating authority to Troy Vincent -– the NFL’s executive vice president and Brady’s former teammate -- to hand down Brady’s punishment.

Additionally, Brady’s counsel plans to argue that the penalties for Brady are “grossly inconsistent” with the league’s past discipline of similar alleged conduct.

Brady’s counsel will also detail how the Wells Report "grasps at dubious, contradictory and mischaracterized circumstantial evidence."