NFL Suspends Patriots' Tom Brady for Four Games Over Deflated Ball Investigation

Following an investigation, the NFL announced this week that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will be suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season for his alleged knowledge of deflated footballs during the 2014 playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts.

An NFL-sanctioned investigation led by attorney Ted Wells recently found that "it is more probable than not that Jim McNally and John Jastremski participated in a deliberate plan to circumvent the rules by releasing air from Patriots game balls." 

The report went on to say that "it is unlikely that an equipment assistant and a locker room attendant would deflate game balls without Brady's knowledge and approval," the report said.

Along with being suspended from the first four games of this upcoming season, the New England Patriots will also face a $1 million fine and have two draft picks revoked, one for the 2016 season and one for the 2017 season.

Brady is accused of having knowledge of the deflated balls during last season's AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts, in which the Patriots won 45 to 7. The Patriots then went on to beat the Seattle Seahawks for the Super Bowl title.

According to USA Today, Patriots owner Robert Kraft said his organization felt the report lacked "any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs."

According to NPR, Troy Vincent, the NFL's executive vice president for football operations, said that most likely the inflation of the footballs did not affect the Patriots' win over the Colts.

"It is impossible to determine whether this activity had an effect on the outcome of games or what that effect was. There seems little question that the outcome of the AFC Championship Game was not affected," Vincent said in a statement.