Tom Brady missed four games over Deflategate 10 years ago, but the NFL’s controversial punishment still sparks debate

Tom Brady returned to the New England Patriots on October 9, 2016, after serving a four-game suspension over Deflategate, helping his team beat the Cleveland Browns 33-13. A decade later, the punishment remains a source of disagreement among NFL fans, former players and sports commentators. The league accused Brady of being aware of the use of under-inflated footballs during the 2015 AFC Championship Game, an allegation he denied throughout the dispute. The case triggered a lengthy legal fight and cost the NFL millions of dollars, leaving a question that has never quite gone away: did Brady deserve to miss those four games?Tom Brady’s Deflategate suspension followed a lengthy legal battleThe controversy began after the Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game in January 2015. An NFL investigation led by general counsel Jeff Pash and attorney Ted Wells examined whether New England personnel had deliberately deflated footballs.According to ESPN’s report on the investigation, the league concluded it was “‘more probable than not’ that Patriots personnel deliberately deflated footballs during the AFC Championship Game, and that Brady was probably ‘at least generally aware’ of the rules violation.”Brady received a four-game suspension without pay. A federal judge overturned the punishment in September 2015, offering him a temporary victory. The NFL successfully reinstated it in April 2016, however, and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Brady’s appeal that May.The quarterback consequently missed New England’s first four regular-season games in 2016. He returned against Cleveland in Week 5, throwing for 406 yards and three touchdowns in the Patriots’ comfortable win.The dispute had already stretched far beyond the football field. ESPN reported that the NFL spent roughly $22 million over two years investigating the allegations, pursuing legal action and disciplining the organization.Darrelle Revis and Brady’s father revealed the personal tollFor Brady, Deflategate was not simply a fight over equipment rules or a suspension. Darrelle Revis, his former teammate in New England, recalled seeing the quarterback struggle emotionally when he addressed the team.“When the Deflategate happened, and Tom was the headliner of the whole situation, he addressed us as a team. You can tell he was distraught,” Revis said on Apple TV+’s documentary The Dynasty.Revis said Brady directly rejected the allegations in front of his teammates.“He said, ‘This is something I wouldn’t do. I would not ruin the season for us. The allegations are false.’ He was actually bawling his eyes out in front of us.”Brady’s father, Tom Brady Sr., also described the strain the controversy placed on the family.“It was extraordinarily difficult in the life of the Brady family,” he said in the documentary. “Not only did I suffer from it, but my wife, it crushed her. Because he’s not a liar.”Those accounts offer a different perspective on a case often reduced to arguments about football pressure and competitive advantage. Brady’s supporters saw a player fighting a punishment he believed was unjust, with his reputation and family life caught in the fallout.Jason Kelce and Bob Costas questioned the NFL’s responseBrady himself later found humor in the league’s costly investigation. During his Netflix roast in May 2024, he took a swipe at the money spent pursuing the case.“If they had given me the $20 million, I would have just told them I f---ing did it,” Brady quipped.Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce was more direct about his opposition to the punishment. Speaking on the New Heights podcast, he said, “I don’t even think Tom should have gotten in trouble for deflating footballs. I’m pro deflating footballs. I’ll say it. I’ll say it. I am pro deflating footballs.”Kelce continued, “He outsmarted people. Why the f--- does it matter how much air is in that motherf-----?”The former center added, “If you’re throwing it and catching it, who the f--- cares?”Veteran sportscaster Bob Costas also criticized the league’s handling of the scandal in 2015. He argued that officials had “overreacted” and “turned a misdemeanor into a federal case, both figuratively and literally.”Costas compared the situation to other forms of competitive gamesmanship, including watering down a playing field to slow an opponent or using pine tar on a bat. He acknowledged that Brady’s own response had contributed to the controversy, saying the league “perhaps overreacted and Brady himself didn’t say what he could’ve said.”Ten years on, Deflategate remains a revealing test of how the NFL handles discipline, evidence and public trust. Brady served the suspension, returned to win games and later won another Super Bowl with New England. Yet the punishment still divides opinion, partly because the league's findings, the legal fight and the personal accounts have never produced a universally accepted verdict among fans.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.