NFL, NFLPA request resolution to Tom Brady lawsuit before season

The NFL Players Association and the NFL filed a motion on Friday requesting a resolution to Tom Brady's lawsuit to come before the start of the 2015 season.

The NFL Players Association and the NFL filed a motion on Friday requesting a resolution to Tom Brady's lawsuit to come before the start of the 2015 season, according to court documents obtained by CBSSports.com.

The motion says that Brady and the NFLPA had intended to file for a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction, which could have stretched the case out for a long time and allowed Brady to play with the suspension on hold due to the lawsuit.

“The parties met and conferred and have agreed that a final resolution of this matter prior to the commencement of the 2015 NFL regular season would be in everyone's best interest,” the motion says. 

The NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell upheld Brady's four game-suspension for his role in Deflategate on Tuesday. Brady had appealed the suspension, and on Wednesday the NFLPA filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis asking the court to vacate Goodell's decision. The case was then transferred to New York, where the league had already filed papers. 

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The NFL and NFLPA motion proposed a schedule to reach a timely resolution, which calls for a date for oral arguments to be scheduled in order to “enable a decision to be rendered by Sept. 4.” The Patriots open the season on Sept. 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

The lawsuit is being heard by Judge Richard Berman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

On Friday, Berman scheduled a status/settlement conference for Aug. 12 that includes the attendance of Brady and Goodell, where he will look to resolve the case through a settlement. He also scheduled a status/settlement/oral argument for Aug. 19. 

New England opened training camp on Thursday. 

- Molly Geary