The N.F.L. and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady failed to reach an agreement to their seven-month standoff, making it more likely that a federal judge will have to rule on whether to lift or uphold Brady’s four-game suspension.
Brady and the league’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, appeared Monday before Judge Richard M. Berman of Federal District Court in Manhattan, who has urged them for weeks to settle their differences. Despite Berman’s pleas and the appointment of a mediator, the sides seem reluctant to budge.
The N.F.L. wants Brady to accept some blame for his role in the use of deflated footballs used in the A.