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New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady has finally accepted his four-game suspension from the NFL for the “Deflategate” scandal. After a New York court denied an appeal from the NFL players’ union and Brady, he announced that he’s no longer going to try to fight the ban and will sit out the first four contests of the 2016 season. Brady was originally suspended back in May of 2015 without pay for four regular-season games for allegedly deflating the air pressure in footballs before the Patriots beat Indianapolis in the AFC championship game. It’s believed less air pressure would enable the quarterback to get a better grip on the ball in the rainy conditions the January game was played in.

Brady allegedly asked the New England equipment managers to alter the balls before the game. However, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell launched an investigation into the matter and decided to hand down the four-game ban to Brady. The quarterback appealed the decision at the management-union level, but Goodell was the arbitrator and he upheld the ban and insisted Brady indeed took part in the scandal. Brady then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second District and it originally looked like he won the case as Judge Richard Berman sided with the player before the 2015/16 season kicked off. This enabled Brady to play the complete campaign.

The NFL then decided it would appeal the ruling by Berman and a panel of three judges decided 2-1 in favour of the league and reinstated the suspension to Brady. In May, Brady appealed once again as he asked the same court to reconsider. But seven weeks later the court decided Brady’s suspension should be upheld. The player’s final option was to take the matter before the Supreme Court, but legal experts feel the court wouldn’t be interested in the case. Brady then announced on his Facebook account in mid July that he was dropping the matter.

There is a bright side to the story as far as Brady’s concerned though as he renegotiated his contract earlier this year which lowers his base salary for the upcoming season to just $1 million. This means he’ll lose just $235,294 while sitting out the four-game ban when he enters his 17th season. Brady will be making a further $28 million this year as a signing bonus though and New England extended his contract to run until the end of 2019 at $22 million a year in bonuses and salary. This restructuring of his contract was obviously done just in case his appeals were denied.

Brady, who will be 39 years old when the season starts, will miss games against Arizona, Miami, Houston and Buffalo. It’s believed backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will replace Brady for those encounters. Brady will be allowed to practice with the team and can also play in the Patriots’ four preseason contests. He’ll return for the fifth game of the regular season against the Cleveland Browns.