Legal battles still may come in the case of Giants kicker Josh Brown. Whether the league properly placed Brown on the Commisioner’s-Exempt list won’t be one of the fights.
Brown won’t be appealing the designation, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
It’s a smart move, given that the league’s ability to use the Commissioner’s-Exempt list in Personal Conduct Policy cases has been previously upheld via arbitration. Also, Brown is still getting paid; if he fights his current status and forces his way to the active roster, he invites a possible termination of his contract by the Giants.
The Giants could still cut him, in theory. The NFL recently confirmed to PFT that placement on the Commissioner’s-Exempt list does not insulate a player from being released. But the Giants could face a grievance if they impose what would amount to a second punishment for his off-field misconduct, in the same way the Ravens did two years ago after cutting Ray Rice.
Although the NFL is currently investigating separate allegations of wrongdoing about which the league didn’t actually know, Brown can argue that the NFL and/or the Giants should have known, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, all information about his off-field behavior before imposing a one-game suspension, if/when other action against him is taken.
Regardless, Brown realizes that he can’t force his way onto the field, and that at this point the only real question is whether and to what extent he’ll be paid. With the Giants still paying him while he’s on the Commissioner’s-Exempt list, there was no reason to upset the proverbial applecart by filing an appeal.