Tom Brady posted a statement on Facebook thanking his fans, teammates and family for their support on Friday night, a day after a federal judge threw out his four-game suspension in the Deflate-Gate scandal.
"The regular season starts tomorrow morning and I can't wait to fully commit my energy and emotion to focus on the challenges of the 2015 NFL season," Brady said in the statement, before thanking all those who supported him. He also thanked U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, who vacated the suspension.
The NFL had suspended the New England Patriots' star quarterback after concluding that he conspired with two of the team's equipment managers to let air out of footballs before the AFC championship game in January.
In the post, Brady apologized that the league had to "endure" the scandal, which he said was not good for the sport of football.
"While I am pleased to be eligible to play, I am sorry our league had to endure this," he said. "I don’t think it has been good for our sport - to a large degree, we have all lost. I am also sorry to anyone whose feelings I may have hurt as I have tried to work to resolve this situation."
The defending Super Bowl champion Patriots will open the NFL season Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The NFL is appealing the judge's decision to vacate Brady's suspension.
