Sides nearing deadline to set date for Tom Brady's appeal hearing

Tom Brady's appeal of his four-game suspension for his role in the deflated footballs scandal won't be heard by Wednesday's 10-day deadline to set a hearing date, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because no date for the appeal has been set. The collective bargaining agreement calls for the date for the appeal to be set within a 10-day window, not for the appeal itself to be heard. So if the sides don't officially set a date by Wednesday, it would be a mutual delay at that point in doing so.

The union asked commissioner Roger Goodell to recuse himself from hearing the appeal because it said he lacked impartiality and that he would be called as a witness.

Goodell will not withdraw from what he considers his responsibility of hearing the appeal, according to several people with knowledge of the decision.

Troy Vincent, the league's executive vice president of football operations, handed down the suspension to three-time Super Bowl MVP Brady, one of the sport's biggest stars. Vincent also fined the Patriots $1 million and stripped them of a first-round draft pick next year and a fourth-rounder in 2017.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft said last week he will not appeal the team's penalties.

Information from ESPN.com's Mike Reiss and The Associated Press contributed to this report.