Could 'Deflategate' finally, finally be over? For once, the answer might be yes, as Tom Brady has decided to call time on his legal battle with the NFL.
Brady had originally been banned by the NFL following allegations that balls were under-inflated before an NFL play-off fixture in January of 2015 against the Indianapolis Colts.
After a lengthy process of investigation, the NFL stated that they believed "Brady was aware of, and took steps to support, the actions of other team employees to deflate game footballs below the levels called for by the NFL’s Official Playing Rules," and banned him for four games.
Brady challenged that decision in court, which lead to his ban being overturned, before the NFL also decided to take a case against that ruling which lead to Brady having that ban reinstated back in April.
Brady lost an appeal in the court of appeals in July, and has decided not to take another step in the legal battle against the sport's governing body.
Announcing the decision on his Facebook page, Brady thanked the Patriots organisation and the Kraft family for all their support throughout the process, but that he will not be proceeding with further legal action against the NFL, which would have involved going to the US Supreme Court.
In the statement, Brady said "It has been a challenging 18 months and I have made the difficult decision to no longer proceed with the legal process. I'm going to work hard to be the best player I can be for the New England Patriots and I look forward to having the opportunity to return to the field this fall."
Brady will now serve his four game ban at the start of the new season, which will see him miss games against Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills.
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