AEI’s Stan Veuger: Roger Goodell Can’t Uphold Tom Brady’s Suspension

The New England Patriots didn’t deflate any footballs, according to the American Enterprise Institute’s analysis of the Wells Report. Yet quarterback Tom Brady still faces a four-game suspension imposed by the NFL.

AEI’s Stan Veuger doesn’t believe Brady’s suspension can stand after the Wells Report was discredited by the think tank’s research. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will hear Brady’s suspension appeal Tuesday.

“I don’t think (Goodell) can sustain the punishment for Brady that he put in place in the first place because that punishment was based, at least in part, on a report that has been at least, in part, discredited, so you would expect the punishment to come down,” Veuger told NESN.com. “At the same time, of course, he put a lot of faith in this report. He paid a lot of money for it. Walking away from the report is tough, too, plus it opens him up to all sorts of new complaints from the Patriots camp.”

If Goodell admits the Wells Report is bunk, then it would be difficult to justify fining the Patriots $1 million and taking away a first-round draft pick in 2016 and a fourth-rounder in 2017.

The NFL and NFL Players Association haven’t contacted AEI since its report was released Friday.