Why Tom Brady Turned to Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg Amid Deflategate and Divorce Rumors

Between fighting divorce rumors alongside wife Gisele Bündchen, and coping with the backlash from his “Deflategate” scandal, the 38-year-old Patriots star needs all the support he can get.

Luckily he has his “Boston crew” – Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Mark Wahlberg – to turn to in his time of need.

“I’ve been a displaced Californian living in Boston and realizing the roots and how strong the Boston culture is, so that’s where I’ve been for 16 years of my life,” Brady tells Entertainment Tonight. “That’s where my kids were born, and that’s where I’ll live, so it’s a great place to live … There’s a lot of roots in Boston, so [those] guys in particular, I’ve gotten to know over the years and they’re all friends. They believe in what we’re doing, and it’s great to have such great support from all those guys.”

“That is the Boston crew, man,” he adds.

The quarterback was accused of deflating footballs in last year’s AFC championship, but a judge threw out his four-game suspension in September.

Amid the Deflategate drama, reports surfaced that Brady’s marriage to supermodel Bündchen was in trouble.

He denied the rumors during an interview with Boston’s WEEI 93.7 FM in September, saying, “We’re in a great place, I’ll just say that. I’m a lucky man. I’ve been very blessed with support from my family and certainly her, and there’s no bigger supporter that I have than her and vice versa. I’ve been very blessed to have an incredible relationship with my life partner, and I don’t think anything will ever get in the way of that.”

During these difficult times, Brady tells Entertainment Tonight, he also finds strength in his unwavering desire to support his team and be the best athlete he can be.

“Well, I’ve had a lot of events in my life that have motivated me,” Brady says. “Starting with high school – the love of the game, the love of my sport, it started in high school. There’s challenges in college. There’s challenges when I started professionally. There’s been challenges when I injure myself. There’s challenges this off season, but, I think all of those things reinforce what your belief systems are.”

“You know, my motivation is to be the best that I can be,” he continues. “To be the best I can for my teammates, and never let my teammates down. I take my job very seriously. I put a lot into it.”

This article originally appeared on People.com