When people attempt to criticize Tom Brady and devalue his Super Bowl rings, many point to the infamous ‘tuck rule’ game. Even more, however, often refer to what was, at the time, one of the biggest scandals in NFL history: Deflategate.
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The Patriots’ 2015 AFC Championship banner will forever carry that stain, and the team’s then-equipment manager, John Jastremski, is destined to live in its shadows. According to a contemporary report, however, Jastremski was receiving the support of Tom Brady himself from behind the scenes even as the investigation was ongoing.
Thanks to the investigative report by the likes of Theodore V. Wells Jr., Brad S. Karp, and Lorin L. Reisner, we know that “Brady stated that he believed at the time that Jastremski would be asked a lot of questions from within the organization, so he sent these messages to Jastremski to show his support.”
According to the official report, Brady had texted the equipment assistant, asking if he was okay. Jastremski responded by admitting that he was “still nervous” but “so far, so good,” to which Brady responded by stating, “You didn’t do anything wrong, bud.”
Jastremski also tipped Brady off to the fact that he would soon be questioned about the matter himself, stating that “FYI… [They] will be picking your brain about it later. He’s not accusing me, or anyone… Just a heads up.”
Both Jastremski and the official’s locker room attendant, Jim McNally, would ultimately be suspended from the NFL following the conclusion of the investigation, which did rule that there was foul play involved. However, they both would be reinstated in September of 2015.
Suffice to say, no one’s reputation, nor their wallet, was left unscathed. In addition to the employee suspensions, the Patriots also received a one-million-dollar fine and were docked draft picks.
Brady himself was infamously dealt a four-game suspension. Conveniently enough for him, however, a federal judge ruled that his punishment had exceeded the limits of the collective bargaining agreement that was in place at the time.
That officially opened the door for Brady to appeal the suspension, which he did. Nevertheless, it seems as if justice was served accordingly, as the suspension was upheld. Brady would go on to miss out on the first four games of the 2016 regular season, but thanks to the efforts of Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett, the Patriots still managed to enjoy a 3-1 start to the season.
From there, Brady was able to take the baton and guide New England towards a 14-2 regular season record, and thanks to the historic 28-3 comeback, he was able to claim yet another Lombardi Trophy. The win helped to lighten the blow, but only by so much, as here we are still talking about the scandal to this very day.
