A federal judge on Thursday vacated the four-game suspension the NFL imposed on the New England Patriots quarterback in the "Deflategate" scandal.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman issued a 40-page ruling Thursday morning, saying he found "several significant legal deficiencies" in how NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell investigated accusations the Patriots used footballs inflated below league-mandated levels.

Deflategate: Tom Brady timeline

The NFL failed to give Brady proper notice he could be suspended, didn't provide him the opportunity to question one of the league's investigators and denied him equal access to investigative files, Berman wrote in his ruling.

Shortly after Berman's ruling came down, the NFL responded with an action that assure the story about underinflated footballs -- which for weeks dominated sports radio and TV shows around the county -- isn't over quite yet. Nor is the legal wrangling.