Quarterback Tom Brady is suspended for four games following the deflating of footballs during the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts in January. The New England Patriots were fined $1 million and lost a first-round pick in 2016 and a fourth-rounder in 2017. A report commissioned by the NFL found last week that there was “no deliberate attempt” by the Patriots to deflate footballs to gain an advantage in the AFC Championship game—but that a Patriots locker-room attendant and equipment assistant “participated in a deliberate effort” to deflate balls after referees examined them. “Patriots employees John Jastremski and James McNally have been indefinitely suspended without pay by the club,” neither of which can be “reinstated with the prior approval of NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent,” the NFL said in a statement.
