Tom Brady is giving up the legal fight on Deflategate, meaning the New England Patriots quarterback will miss the first four games of the season.
Brady announced the decision Friday on his Facebook page, two days after a federal appeals court rejected his bid to get a new hearing in the matter.
"I'm very grateful for the overwhelming support I've received from (Patriots Chairman and CEO) Mr. (Robert) Kraft, the Kraft family, Coach (Bill) Belichick, my coaches and teammates, the NFLPA, my agents, my loving family and most of all, our fans," Brady wrote. "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."
The NFL Players Association, while acknowledging the decision not to continue the case, did leave the door cracked for another attempt.
"We will continue to review all of our options and we reserve our rights to petition for cert to the Supreme Court," the union wrote.
Legal experts say it would be highly unlikely the U.S. Supreme Court would take up the case, however.
The union is looking to limit the ability of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to act as the final authority when it comes to punishing players. Goodell suspended Brady for the first four games of this season for the quarterback's role in an alleged football-deflating scheme in the 2015 AFC championship game against Indianapolis.
In rejecting Brady's appeal for a new hearing, the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Goodell's powers under the league's collective bargaining agreement to such decisions in the future, delivering a setback to the NFLPA.
Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo will step into the starting role for Brady in games against Arizona, Miami, Houston and Buffalo. The first game Brady will be eligible to return is Oct. 9 at Cleveland.
