4 ways the Tom Brady decision affects fans, sports business

Here are four ways the Tom Brady court decision affects fans and sports business:

Tickets

If Brady's four-game suspension had been upheld, New England's game against the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on Oct. 18 would have been Brady's first of the season.

In the hours after Thursday's court decision, ticket brokers and sellers on the secondary market said ticket prices had increased only a little.

The median listing price at SeatGeek.com for a ticket went from $256 to $262 on Thursday. The cheapest ticket went from $131 to $139.

Jeff McGuinness of 317 Tickets in Indianapolis said former Colts receiver Reggie Wayne had already boosted prices for the game after signing with the Patriots as a free agent.

The game is still StubHub.com's fifth-most expensive ticket of the NFL regular season.

Fantasy football

For leagues that had their draft before the decision, Brady had been devalued by the potential of missing four games, or any games.

Those who selected him probably received good value, but not great value.

CBSSports.com said its fantasy leagues, on average, had Brady as the 11th-rated quarterback before the decision.

Last season, he had the eighth-most fantasy points among quarterbacks.

One other thing, though: Don't forget what Brady means to New England's receivers in terms of fantasy points.

Gambling

Bookmakers reacted immediately to Brady being the Patriots' quarterback instead of backup Jimmy Garoppolo.

Betting lines for New England's regular-season opener at home against Pittsburgh went from the Patriots being favored by three points, generally, to six points. That went even higher, to seven points, as money came in on New England.

Covers.com reported William Hill U.S. moved New England's odds of winning the Super Bowl from 12-1 to 9-1.

The odds of Brady being the NFL's most valuable player went from 20-1 to 10-1 at Bovada.

The ESPN analytics site fivethirtyeight.com said that having Brady all season moved the Patriots' projected season win total from 9.6 to 10.1.

The commissioner

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has a contract to March 2019, looks vulnerable.

In his opinion in the Brady decision, the judge roasted the fairness of the league's justice system, over which Goodell has presided since coming in as a law-and-order commissioner.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said being NFL commissioner is her dream job.

She might be the person NFL owners want at a time when the issue of concussions has prompted an upcoming Will Smith movie, not to mention doubts in parents' minds about whether kids should play football.

Call Star reporter Mark Alesia at (317) 444-6311. Follow him on Twitter: @markalesia.