Tom Brady, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, made headlines due to the “Deflategate” scandal in 2015, in which he was accused of cheating by using underinflated footballs during a game.
Later, a new twist in this story came when reports claimed that Tom Brady allegedly destroyed his cellphone to hide messages related to this cheating scandal.
The “Deflategate scandal” began during the 2014 AFC Championship Game, in which the New England Patriots, led by Tom Brady, defeated the Indianapolis Colts 45-7.
After the game, the Colts raised concerns that the Patriots were using footballs with air pressure below the NFL’s required range of 12.5 to 13.5 PSI (pounds per square inch).
Following concerns raised by the Colts, the NFL launched an investigation, led by lawyer Ted Wells, to determine if Brady and the Patriots had deliberately tampered with the footballs.
Later, the investigation found that it was “more probable than not” that Brady was “generally aware” of a scheme to deflate the balls, involving two Patriots equipment managers, Jim McNally and John Jastremski.
A key part of the NFL’s investigation focused on Brady’s cellphone. The league wanted to see text messages from Brady’s phone to check if he had communicated with the equipment managers about deflating footballs.
However, Brady said he had replaced his old Samsung phone with a new iPhone 6 around March 6, 2015, the same day investigators interviewed him.
He claimed his assistant destroyed the old phone, which had nearly 10,000 text messages from the time of the scandal.
Brady’s Destroyed Cellphone Sparked NFL Suspicion and Raised Questions About Deflategate Involvement!
The NFL, including Commissioner Roger Goodell, saw this coincidence as fishy. They believed Brady destroyed the phone to hide evidence of cheating, given his timing of destruction.
Goodell called it a “willful obstruction” of the investigation, which became a significant reason for upholding Brady’s four-game suspension for the 2016 season.
Brady, however, denied any wrongdoing. He stated that it was his nothing but normal to destroy old phones for privacy reasons, and he offered to provide the NFL with a list of contacts he had texted during that time.
His team suggested the NFL could get the messages from those contacts’ phones, but the league said this was “not practical.”
The destroyed cellphone raised many questions. Some argued he might have been worried about personal messages unrelated to football being leaked.
Others, like NFL officials, believed he was hiding texts that could prove he was involved in the deflation scheme.
Above all, the timing of the phone’s destruction right before his meeting with investigators made it look even more suspicious.
However, Brady’s side pointed out that the NFL already had text messages from the equipment managers’ phones, which didn’t show clear evidence of Brady ordering the deflation.
For example, texts referred to McNally as “the deflator,” but some argued that this was related to a prank involving overinflated balls, rather than deflating them.
Tom Brady Was Suspended for Four Games in the 2016 Season!
The Deflategate scandal led to serious consequences for Brady and the Patriots. Brady was suspended for four games at the start of the 2016 season.
Likewise, the Patriots were fined $1 million, and they lost two draft picks.
Brady fought the suspension in court and won a temporary delay, allowing him to play the entire 2015 season. However, the suspension was later reinstated, and he served it in 2016.
Despite the punishment, he returned to lead the Patriots to a Super Bowl win that year, earning the MVP award.
However, so far, the question of whether Tom Brady cheated remains divisive. Some believe the evidence, like the destroyed phone and texts between equipment managers, proves he was involved.
Others argue that there’s no solid proof, but rather mere guesses and unclear evidence.
Brady has always denied cheating, and in a 2024 Netflix comedy roast, he jokingly “admitted” to Deflategate, which some saw as a way to put the issue to rest.
He said with mischief in his voice:
But where’s Roger Goodell? Remember Deflategate? The NFL spent 20 million dollars and found that it was ‘more probable than not’ that I was ‘generally aware’ that someone may have deflated my footballs. You could’ve just given me the 20 million and I would’ve just told you I did it.
Tom Brady
Still, the scandal remains part of his legacy, with some fans and critics labeling him a cheater, while others view him as unfairly targeted.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Tom Brady was married to Gisele Bündchen, the Brazilian supermodel and activist, from 2009 until their divorce in 2022. Together, they have two children: Benjamin and Vivian.
- Brady also has a son, Jack, from a previous relationship with actress Bridget Moynahan.
