New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady, who appealed his four-game suspension without pay over the "Deflategate" incident, is said to be in settlement talks with the league amid Commissioner Roger Goodell remaining mum on the verdict.

A source confirmed that Brady, the Super Bowl XLIX MVP, just had "settlement discussions" with the league, ProFootballTalk reported. However, the outlet stated that until now, there has been "no progress" about the matter and that it would be "unexpected" that something positive could result for Brady from the talks.

The website's insider even shared that Goodell is "pushed" by some "influential owners to hold firm" on Brady's penalty. The site noted that Goodell might just do exactly like that as it would be the "safest course" for him and just let federal court decrease the suspension afterwards.

This may be the reason that Goodell is still not releasing his decision on the matter. Recently, he stated that he just wants to be "thorough," ESPN reported.

Although before hand, Goodell's strong stand on going through the process may be mirrored from his earlier statements. He was even clear that the team owner's decision to not appeal the Patriots' penalty - a $1 million fine and temporary cancellation of drafting rights - will not affect Brady's appeal.

"This process has been established, it goes back to Commissioner Pete Rozelle and several labor agreements. There's a process in place we want to follow," Goodell told the reporters in May, NFL.com informed.

The commissioner also expressed his admiration for Brady as a player but reiterated the need for the league's rules to be upheld.

"I have great admiration and respect for Tom Brady, but the rules have to be enforced on a uniform basis and they apply to everybody in the league. They apply to every club, every individual coach, every individual player and that is something that we put the game ahead of everything," the commissioner declared.

Brady's Appeal

Brady appealed his "Deflategate" suspension at the NFL headquarters on June 23, which reportedly lasted for 10 hours. A source stated that Brady "stuck with the story he has told since the investigation began," according to USA Today, or that he testified that if there were any "scheme to deflate footballs," during the AFC match, he had no knowledge about the action nor did he order it.

The 'Deflategate' Issue

Brady was penalized after independent investigator Ted Wells' findings show that "more probable than not," Brady "was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities" of Jim McNally and John Jastremski, two of the Patriots' staff who were accused of deflating the footballs during the championship match with the Indianapolis Colts, NFL.com reported in May.