What did Tom Brady know and when did he know it? The DeflateGate report doesn't quite answer those questions about the New England Patriots quarterback's role in deflating game balls ahead of the AFC Championship game in January. However, Ted Wells and his team did have enough evidence to conclude that it's "more probable than not" that Brady was at least "generally" aware that the game balls were being deflated.
The Wells report could still end up being a problem for Brady. The NFL is reportedly considering discipline against him that could come soon, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
So what exactly did the league's investigation find that potentially has Brady in trouble?
Brady's relationship with "the deflator"
Tom Brady is not an easy guy to work for, just ask Jim McNally and John Jastremski, the locker room assistant and equipment staffer who were responsible for the game balls ... and most directly responsible for deflating them.
Text messages exchanged between Jastremski and McNally made it clear, according to the conclusions in the report, that Brady was aware of McNally's involvement in preparing the game balls.
Following the Jets game, McNally and Jastremski exchanged text message referencing Brady and his dissatisfaction with the inflation levels and joking about making "watermelons" with the balls for a later game. Those texts also discussed a payout for their services, including cash, sneakers and clothing, which McNally would receive for deflating the balls. McNally even referred to himself as "the deflator."
Those messages don't square with Brady's claim to investigators that he was not aware of who McNally is or his role within the organization. Investigators also point to those conversations as evidence that Brady was "the catalyst" for offering McNally sneakers and other items via Jastremski.
Tom Brady's soft balls
Colts GM Ryan Grigson sent a letter to the league, the Football Operations Department, before the AFC Championship, raising a concern over the inflation level of the Patriots game balls (page 44). Grigson's note to the league cited his team's equipment manager, who pointed to the Patriots quarterback, without naming him directly, and how he like his game balls.
As far as the gameballs are concerned it is well known around the league that after the Patriots gameballs are checked by the officials and brought out for game usage the ballboys for the patriots will let out some air with a ball needle because their quarterback likes a smaller football so he can grip it better, it would be great if someone would be able to check the air in the game balls as the game goes on so that they don‟t get an illegal advantage.
Their concern stemmed from a Week 11 game against the Patriots, when safety Mike Adams picked off two passes from Tom Brady. Indianapolis' equipment managers noted the balls felt "soft and squishy" when they squeezed them, but they did not measure the actual air pressure. They also pointed to "chatter" around the league about Brady and the Patriots balls.
Reacting to the investigation
After news of the deflated balls was first reported in January, Bill Belichick asked his quarterback if he had any involvement or any knowledge of game balls being intentionally deflated. Brady told his coach "absolutely not," according to the Wells investigation. He later told the entire team the same thing at a team meeting. He might not have been telling the whole truth, according to the report.
Brady and Jastremski hadn't talked on the phone for six months before Jan. 19, when news of the deflated balls and a looming investigation broke, according to phone records turned over to investigators. That day, Brady and Jastremski exchanged a series of phone calls and text messages directly referencing the investigation into the deflated game balls in the AFC Championship.
Recollections of the conversation were thin on details when recounted to the investigators. Brady acknowledged talking to Jastremski about preparing the balls for the Super Bowl in a similar way to how the balls for the AFC Championship game were prepped, but neither one revealed anything incriminating to investigators when recounting the conversations.
In drawing its conclusion that it was "more probable than not" that Jastremski and McNally had intentionally deflated the game balls, the Wells report points to the increased frequency of calls and text messages between Brady and Jastremski as well as between Jastremski and McNally after the news of the deflated balls first went public. As for Brady, investigators viewed this as more evidence of his awareness about the balls being deflated.
Wells and his team interviewed Brady, but he refused to provide any of his personal emails, text message or other electronic communications related to the investigation. The Patriots' cooperation was limited as well, despite promises that it wouldn't be, most notably by the team's refusal to make McNally available for a follow-up interview.
Whatever punishment the NFL eventually hands down for Brady, if it chooses to punish him at all, isn't going to take away his Super Bowl rings, the MVP awards, the Pro Bowl selections, the All-Pro nods, the Uggs endorsements, etc. It's not going to compromise his eventually enshrinement in the Hall of Fame either. What it will do is keep him surrounding in controversy for years to come, gas on the fire for a guy who was already an endless source for hot takes.
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