--- title: Brady: Tom Brady Deflategate Suspension description: Given the thin evidence tying Brady directly to Deflategate, a four-game suspension makes little sense, writes TIME's Sean Gregory. canonical: https://time.com/3854906/tom-brady-nfl-suspension-deflategate-patriots/ author: Sean Gregory article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-12T02:09:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:02.574Z article:section: Sports og:title: Why the Tom Brady Suspension Is Ridiculous og:description: A four-game suspension makes little sense, writes TIME's Sean Gregory og:url: https://time.com/3854906/tom-brady-nfl-suspension-deflategate-patriots/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9527d9fddea748c4/6987ef4ef887dcc7b8e8e6ba/tom-brady.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: tom-brady og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why the Tom Brady Suspension Is Ridiculous twitter:description: A four-game suspension makes little sense, writes TIME's Sean Gregory twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9527d9fddea748c4/6987ef4ef887dcc7b8e8e6ba/tom-brady.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why the Tom Brady Suspension Is Ridiculous > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Sean Gregory](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory Senior Correspondent May 12, 2015 2:09 AM UTC  Tom Brady of the New England Patriots reacts against the Seattle Seahawks during Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Febr. 1, 2015. Tom Brady of the New England Patriots reacts against the Seattle Seahawks during Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Febr. 1, 2015.Elsa—Getty Images  by [Sean Gregory](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory Senior Correspondent May 12, 2015 2:09 AM UTC Tom Brady and his people haven’t exactly carried themselves with aplomb during this whole Deflategate episode. Earlier this year, in a pre-Super Bowl news conference, Brady tried to deflect the seriousness of New England’s alleged air pressure tampering during January’s AFC title game by bringing terrorists into the conversation. That’s never a good idea. (“This isn’t ISIS,” Brady said. “You know, no one’s dying.”) Brady refused to hand over any text or email records during attorney Ted Wells’ investigation, even though Wells was prepared to let Brady’s lawyer control the production of such records—a layup for the defense if there ever was one. Also, it sure seems like Brady sold out a powerless locker room lackey when he told investigators that he did not even know the identity of Jim McNally, the man accused of carrying out the deflation deed. And Brady’s agent called the flaws of Wells report, which concluded that the Pats star was likely “generally aware” of the deflation scheme, “tragic.” Again, never a good idea introducing such a word into a discussion on psi. So it’s tempting to cheer the comeuppance of Tom Brady, the all-too-perfect quarterback of the NFL’s most villainous team. The NFL suspended him Monday, without pay, for four regular season games, while fining the Pats a million bucks and taking away the team’s first-round draft pick in 2016, and fourth-rounder in 2017\. But please resist cheering the NFL’s sentence. Because it’s ridiculous. For what it’s worth, I’m not from Boston, and not a Pats fan. But while you and I may bet that Brady did at least tacitly sign off on puncturing the footballs, the evidence in the Wells report directly trying Brady to Deflategate is thin. Wells largely bases his conclusion on the fact that Brady made a bunch of phone calls to equipment assistant John Jastremski after the controversy went public; Brady had not called the guy in the prior six months. Were they getting their stories straight? Maybe. But is it plausible that Brady was just insanely curious to find out what Jastremski knew, given the story was spiraling out of control, and many people were labeling Brady a cheat? Totally. Bottom line: this penalty is convenient for the NFL. So what if Roger Goodell peeves off Pats fans, and even Brady? If he had let Brady off easy, on the other hand, he’d have to hear howls from other team owners, the press and millions of fans across the country that he was just protecting Pats owner Robert Kraft—Goodell’s most visible defender during the Ray Rice mess—and the NFL’s biggest star. Instead, he gets to be the tough guy. He’ll even stand up to Tom Brady, darnit, and teach him a lesson. It’s actually pretty easy to pick on the cool kid. You don’t come across as a bully. (Brady’s agent said Monday evening he will appeal the penalty.) “Your actions as set forth in the report clearly constitute conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the game of professional football,” NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent wrote in a letter to Brady. The NFL always nails sanctimony. This is a sport that all but ignored a public health crisis—head injuries—or decades. Confidence leaked long ago. Brady deserves a little stain on his “legacy” for this. After all, Joe Montana didn’t need deflation. Let the sports bars say he’s a fraud. But don’t keep him on the sidelines to send a hollow message, when you just don’t have the goods. _Read next:_ [_6 Surreal Takeaways From the Deflategate Report_](http://time.com/3849660/deflategate-new-england-patriots-tom-brady-football?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/autoplay/?xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ### See All 48 Superbowl Rings  Super Bowl I - Green Bay Packers National Football League  Super Bowl II - Green Bay Packers National Football League  Super Bowl III - New York Jets National Football League  Super Bowl IV - Kansas City Chiefs National Football League  Super Bowl V - Baltimore Colts National Football League  Super Bowl VI - Dallas Cowboys National Football League  Super Bowl VII - Miami Dolphins National Football League  Super Bowl VIII - Miami Dolphins National Football League  Super Bowl IX - Pittsburgh Steelers National Football League  Super Bowl X - Pittsburgh Steelers National Football League  Super Bowl XI - 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New Orleans Saints National Football League  Super Bowl XLV - Green Bay Packers National Football League  Super Bowl XLVI - New York Giants National Football League  Super Bowl XLVII - Baltimore Ravens National Football League  Super Bowl XLVIII - Seattle Seahawks National Football League ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3854906/tom-brady-nfl-suspension-deflategate-patriots/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3854906/tom-brady-nfl-suspension-deflategate-patriots/"},"headline":"Why the Tom Brady Suspension Is Ridiculous","datePublished":"2015-05-12T02:09:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:02.574Z","description":"Given the thin evidence tying Brady directly to Deflategate, a four-game suspension makes little sense","url":"https://time.com/3854906/tom-brady-nfl-suspension-deflategate-patriots/","keywords":["Football","New England Patriots","Tom Brady","deflategate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9527d9fddea748c4/6987ef4ef887dcc7b8e8e6ba/tom-brady.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sean Gregory","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9527d9fddea748c4/6987ef4ef887dcc7b8e8e6ba/tom-brady.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"tom-brady","caption":"during Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium on February 1, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona.","creditText":"Elsa—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3854906/tom-brady-nfl-suspension-deflategate-patriots/","name":"Why the Tom Brady Suspension Is Ridiculous"}}]}] ```