How The NFL Deflategate Scandal Really Affected Tom Brady

Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was front and center during the infamous Deflategate scandal in 2014.

As you may know, Brady spent 20 of his 22 NFL seasons with the New England Patriots where he won six of his seven Super Bowls. During one of those seasons, Brady and the team were accused of illegally deflating footballs, better known as Deflategate.

Now, years later, Brady's former teammate, Darrelle Revis, is revealing exactly how the former quarterback handled the scandal, and how it affected his personal life.

Deflategate went down after the Indianapolis Colts accused the New England Patriots of using illegally deflated footballs to give them an advantage in the 2014 AFC Championship Game -- a game where Brady and the Pats won 45-7.

Due to the accusations, the NFL suspended Brady for four games the following season, plus fined the Patriots $1 million. The team also had to forfeit two draft picks in the 2016 NFL Draft.

The infamous scandal is still something that is highly discussed in the NFL world to this day, and it was the highlight of episode seven of 'The Dynasty: New England Patriots' documentary on Apple TV+.

Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis played for the Patriots alongside Tom Brady for one season -- one of which Deflategate happened. He claims that the former NFL quarterback spoke with his teammates before Super Bowl XLIX to address the infamous scandal -- where he broke down in tears and denied the allegations.

"When Deflategate happened and Tom was the headliner of the whole situation, he addressed us as a team," Revis said in the seventh episode of the Apple TV+ series. "You could tell he was distraught."

He added that Brady "was actually bawling his eyes out in front of us" as he claimed no wrongdoing.

Brady also addressed the infamous scandal, telling viewers of the Apple TV+ docuseries, “When the shots are being fired at you, when they’re being fired at people you care about, that’s when it gets hard."

The CEO of the New England Patriots Robert Kraft echoed Revis's claims, stating that “The two weeks were very difficult on Tommy" and he took it "very hard.”

Tom Brady's former teammate Danny Amendola then chimed in, claiming that while "Tom can be a very fiery person" the future Hall of Famer "can also be a very soft person."

"He can be very emotional. It took a massive toll on him because of his kids," the wide receiver said, adding, "Just having to listen to his kids come home from school and talk about the things they heard from their teachers or friends, I felt for him.”

Despite Deflategate, the New England Patriots went on to win Super XLIX, beating the Seattle Seahawks 28-24.

According to official NFL rules, footballs are required to be inflated between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch (PSI). However, in 2014, the Indianapolis Colts accused the New England Patriots of cheating in the NFL playoffs, which lead to a full-on investigation.

While the NFL did not log the pregame measurements of footballs used in the Patriots game, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that 11 of the 12 footballs used in the first half of the game were determined by officials to be under the minimum PSI at halftime.

Following the investigation, a 253-page report from the NFL found the Patriots at fault and Brady was accused of being "generally aware" of the supposed plot to deflate the footballs, but Brady repeatedly denied all accusations.

"I didn't alter the balls in any way," he said at the time of the scandal.

Former Patriots equipment managers Jim McNally and John Jastremski were also determined to be involved in the scandal.

The report added that McNally took the approved NFL footballs into the bathroom before the 2014 AFC title game, which "was a sufficient period to deflate thirteen footballs using a needle."

Brady was also said to be involved as multiple phone conversations between him and Jastremski were recorded, however, the context of those calls remains unknown.