Tom Brady Suspended For 4 Games Over 'Deflategate'

The NFL announced on Monday that it has suspended New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady without pay for the first four games of the 2015 regular season for conduct related to the team's deflategate controversy.

In a letter sent to Brady and provided to the press, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said the quarterback hindered the investigation by refusing to "cooperate fully and candidly" with the investigators.

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," he said.

The league additionally fined the Patriots $1 million, and stripped them of their 2016 first-round draft pick and 2017 fourth-round draft pick. John Jastremski and James McNally, the two key employees cited in the Wells report for their role in the controversy, also have been "indefinitely suspended without pay," the league said.

If Jastremski and McNally are reinstated by the league, neither will be allowed to play a role in the "preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs" next season.

"[F]ootballs were intentionally deflated in an effort to provide a competitive advantage to Tom Brady after having been certified by the game officials as being in compliance with the playing rules," Vincent said in a separate letter to the Patriots. "While we cannot be certain when the activity began, the evidence suggests that January 18th was not the first and only occasion when this occurred."

The announcement comes less than a week after the release of the Wells report, a 243-page document detailing why an independent law firm found it "more probable than not" that Patriots personnel deliberately deflated the team's footballs below approved levels to give Brady an advantage during its January 18 AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. The report additionally concluded that Brady was more likely than not "at least generally aware" of the situation.

In what will be his first game back this coming season, Brady will face off against the Colts , his opponent during the "deflategate" game called into question earlier this year.

Here is Vincent's full letter to Tom Brady:

With respect to your particular involvement, the report established that there is substantial and credible evidence to conclude you were at least generally aware of the actions of the Patriots employees involved in the deflation of the footballs and that it was unlikely that their actions were done without your knowledge. Moreover, the report documents your failure to cooperate fully and candidly with the investigation, including by refusing to produce any relevant electronic evidence (emails, texts, etc.), despite being offered extraordinary safeguards by the investigators to protect unrelated personal information, and by providing testimony that the report concludes was not plausible and contradicted by other evidence.

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. The integrity of the game is of paramount importance to everyone in our league, and requires unshakable commitment to fairness and compliance with the playing rules. Each player, no matter how accomplished and otherwise respected, has an obligation to comply with the rules and must be held accountable for his actions when those rules are violated and the publics confidence in the game is called into question.

And here is the NFLs full release:

The New England Patriots were notified today of the following discipline that has been imposed for violations of the NFL Policy on Integrity of the Game and Enforcement of Competitive Rules relating to the use of under-inflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game of this past season:

For the violation of the playing rules and the failure to cooperate in the subsequent investigation, the New England Patriots are fined $1 million and will forfeit the clubs first-round selection in the 2016 NFL Draft and the clubs fourth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. If the Patriots have more than one selection in either of these rounds, the earlier selection shall be forfeited. The club may not trade or otherwise encumber these selections.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft advised Commissioner Roger Goodell last week that Patriots employees John Jastremski and James McNally have been indefinitely suspended without pay by the club, effective on May 6th. Neither of these individuals may be reinstated without the prior approval of NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent. If they are reinstated by the Patriots, Jastremski is prohibited from having any role in the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs to be used in NFL games during the 2015 season. McNally is barred from serving as a locker room attendant for the game officials, or having any involvement with the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs or any other equipment on game day.

Quarterback Tom Brady will be suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2015 regular season for conduct detrimental to the integrity of the NFL. Brady may participate in all off-season, training camp and pre-season activities, including pre-season games.

Commissioner Goodell authorized the discipline that was imposed by NFL Executive President Troy Vincent, pursuant to the commissioners disciplinary authority under the NFL Constitution and Bylaws and the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL Players Association.

We reached these decisions after extensive discussion with Troy Vincent and many others, Commissioner Goodell said. We relied on the critical importance of protecting the integrity of the game and the thoroughness and independence of the Wells report.

UPDATE: Brady's agent Don Yee released a statement calling the punishment "ridiculous," adding that they will appeal the league's decision to suspend the quarterback.

Read Yee's full statement:

The discipline is ridiculous and has no legitimate basis. In my opinion, this outcome was pre-determined; there was no fairness in the Wells investigation whatsoever. There is no evidence that Tom directed footballs be set at pressures below the allowable limits. In fact, the evidence shows Tom clearly emphasized that footballs be set at pressures within the rules. Tom also cooperated with the investigation and answered every question presented to him. The Wells Report presents significant evidence, however, that the NFL lacks standards or protocols with respect to its handling of footballs prior to games; this is not the fault of Tom or the Patriots. The report also presents significant evidence the NFL participated with the Colts in some type of pre-AFC Championship Game planning regarding the footballs. This fact may raise serious questions about the integrity of the games we view on Sundays. We will appeal, and if the hearing officer is completely independent and neutral, I am very confident the Wells Report will be exposed as an incredibly frail exercise in fact-finding and logic. The NFL has a well-documented history of making poor disciplinary decisions that often are overturned when truly independent and neutral judges or arbitrators preside, and a former federal judge has found the commissioner has abused his discretion in the past, so this outcome does not surprise me. Sadly, todays decision diminishes the NFL as it tells its fans, players and coaches that the games on the field dont count as much as the games played on Park Avenue.