National Football League
Source: Tom Brady's post-hearing briefs due next week
National Football League

Source: Tom Brady's post-hearing briefs due next week

Published Jun. 24, 2015 4:32 p.m. ET

The Tom Brady appeal lasted 10 hours on Tuesday.

The New England Patriots quarterback, however, shouldn't expect a decision any sooner than mid-to-late July.

Post-hearing briefs in the appeal are due late next week, sources tell FOX Sports 1 NFL insider Mike Garafolo. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would need some time to digest these briefs and then make a decision to either keep or lighten the four-game suspension.

The NFL announced in late January that attorney Ted Wells would head an investigation into the New England Patriots use of underinflated balls in their 45-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 18.

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More than three months later, the 243-page Wells report was issued, saying it was "more probable than not" that Brady was "at least generally aware" that footballs he used were improperly deflated by team personnel.

Five days after that, on May 11, the NFL suspended Brady four games, fined the Patriots $1 million and docked them two draft picks. Patriots owner Robert Kraft has accepted the team penalties.

But Brady appealed and, more than six weeks later, had his hearing before Goodell in New York on Tuesday.

"I don't know what the timetable is," said Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney who represented Brady at the hearing. "I think we put in a very compelling case."

Once Goodell reaches a decision, the league must craft the wording precisely so it would withstand legal scrutiny if Brady decides to challenge it in court.

Goodell must decide "as soon as practicable," according to the NFL's collective bargaining agreement.

It's been nearly a month without a ruling since the hearing for Dallas defensive end Greg Hardy before arbitrator Harold Henderson. Hardy was suspended for the first 10 games of the 2015 season in a domestic violence case.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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