Deflategate over, for now

I'm very grateful for the overwhelming support I've received from Mr. Kraft, the Kraft family, coach Belichick, my coaches and teammates, the NFLPA, my agents, my loving family and most of all, our fans. 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.

Tom Brady posted this message on his facebook page today.To me, this means one of two things. (1) He knows he is culpable (2) He knows he has almost no chance in the supreme court because the ruling is not about his culpability but the right for Goodell to do what he pleases-----and Brady plans to file a law suit against the league subsequently.

I think it is (1).  I am not a legal scholar but I wonder if by not taking this as far as he could at this point it undermines any case he might make subsequently.  Also, I believe that if he is blameless he would not stand for his name to be besmirched any more than it already has been. He would issue a statement as strident as it would be substantive explicitly rejecting any intimation of culpability.  

If you were innocent, would you stop when your near flawless image had been sullied, probably irreparably, by baseless charges?

When I read through the report and read how the report was defended, I was stunned by the lack of substance, the biased process of investigation, and Goodell's apparent irrational intransigence. 

I always thought and wrote here that Goodell had a smoking gun. Some clear information that unequivocally linked Brady to the behavior that, for some intelligent reason, he did not want to disclose. Otherwise his decisions acting against one of the game's icons was, to anyone other than a Patriot hater or jealous other, was too confounding to explain.  

So, I think Goodell has a smoking gun. That Brady is culpable.  

I do not get why Brady would possibly take a suspension, unless, unless...

His legal team said it would be a waste of time because it would inevitably have been rejected by the supreme court before it was heard, ie. they would have voted not to hear it.  

AND they were certain that the real victory would come down the road when the NFL would be sued for fabricating a case that provided clear damages to the athlete's income and reputation, let alone to the team and fan base.  Bob Kraft and Coach Belichick must know that Goodell has Brady by the short hairs. Otherwise we do not see this post on facebook today.