Tom Brady is considered my many as the greatest QB of all time, winning 6 Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and another with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brady spent 20 of his 22 NFL seasons as quarterback in New England and while there was plenty of drama attached to his almost two-decade run for the Patriots, the “Deflategate” scandal will remain attached to Brady forever, and many NFL fans wonder if he did in fact cheat on purpose.
Patriots fans rode through ups and downs with Brady for two decades, but perhaps no trial was greater than the Deflategate scandal of 2014 — an exhaustive investigation into accusations of illegally deflating footballs that dominated local and national sports media for the better part of two years.
So what actually happened, was the investigation done properly and is Tom Brady’s legacy tainted due to requesting the air on a few footballs to be lowered?
Let’s start by simply defining the scandal in question.
Deflategate was the term used to refer to the scandal and the corresponding investigation into allegations Brady and the New England Patriots broke NFL rules by deflating footballs during the 2014 AFC title game against the Indianapolis Colts.
A game-used ball was tested at halftime — an unprecedented occurrence at the time — and a years-long investigation and legal battle ensued. A new NFL ordinance has since been adopted that games can be randomly selected to have footballs removed at halftime and analyzed.
NFL footballs are required to be inflated to between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch (PSI). Dean Blandino, the NFL’s officiating vice president, said in 2015 the NFL did not log the pregame measurements of footballs, so there is no official record.
However, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported 11 of the 12 footballs used in the first half were determined by officials to be under the minimum PSI at halftime, with one coming in two PSI under and the rest just “a few ticks” under.
Various explanations were debated at the time, including physics theories that explain how temperature and other conditions effect pressure.
But a 253-page report from the league found the Patriots at fault. Brady was alleged to be “at least generally aware” of a plot to deflate the footballs. He was eventually suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season, while the New England Patriots were handed a $1 million fine and lost two draft picks because of the Deflategate scandal.
Tom Brady repeatedly denied all accusations.
“I didn’t alter the balls in any way,” he said in 2015.
Other than circumstantial evidence, there is no direct line connecting Brady to an implicit act against NFL rules. However, Brady did destroy his cell phone prior to it being used in the investigation. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called Brady’s act a willful obstruction of evidence.
Tom Brady said he regularly gives old phones to assistants for destruction, a claim he made under oath in June 2015. Wells followed that up with testimony saying Brady acted as if he were “hiding something and may be guilty.”
In 2006, Brady and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning argued for a rule change that eventually allowed road teams to bring their own footballs. At the time, only home teams were permitted to supply game-used footballs.
The rule change also allowed quarterbacks to be pickier about the footballs they use — including and not limited to washing them and throwing them in the dryer.
“We had a little petition going around … and got 20 quarterbacks to sign the petition,” Manning said at the time. “We tracked Steve (McNair) down in Mississippi. Everybody faxed their petition back pretty much the next day. It was pretty much a no-brainer on trying to get that changed because it just makes sense.
“Nobody wants to see a receiver wide open and the ball two-hopped to him because the ball is slick.”
Brady served his four-game suspension — despite a long legal fight where a judge overturned the NFL’s ruling at one point — and returned to the New England Patriots prior to their Week 5 matchup. The Patriots won Super LI a few months later with Brady named MVP of the game.
It’s also impossible to identify what, if any, advantage was gained as a result of the alleged deflated footballs.
Former Teammate Says Tom Brady Was Bawling His Eyes Out In Front Of Entire New England Patriots Team After Deflategate Scandal
Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis — who played for the Pats for one season — says a visibly upset Brady spoke with his teammates at some point prior to Super Bowl XLIX … and he burst into tears as he denied any wrongdoing.When Deflategate happened and Tom was the headliner of the whole situation, he addressed us as a team,” Revis said in the “The Dynasty: New England Patriots” documentary on Apple TV+. “You could tell he was distraught.”
“He was actually bawling his eyes out in front of us.”
This infamously became known as “Deflategate.”