NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

Tom Brady: 3 Revelations we hope for in 2021 documentary

By Mitchell Hansen

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 04: A detail of the jersey of Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots in the AFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 04: A detail of the jersey of Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots in the AFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
Tom Brady New England Patriots
Tom Brady (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

2. Spygate and Deflategate scandals

One of the most interesting scandals and question marks of Tom Brady’s legendary career with the New England Patriots include two of the most public and controversial scandals in recent NFL history.

Those two scandals that have put somewhat of an asterisk next to Brady’s name, as well as the organization he played for, are Spygate during the 2007 campaign and Deflategate in 2014.

In 2007, Brady and company were disciplined by the NFL for Spygate, where the team reportedly videotaped the New York Jets’ signals on the defensive side of the ball to try and get an edge on a talented Jets squad. That scandal took place during New England and New York’s showdown on Sept. 9, 2007 in New York.

Since the Patriots videotaped the Jets defensive signal calling from their sideline during the game, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell decided New England was in violation of league rules and the league ended up fining head coach Bill Belichick, the organization and took away the teams first-round draft pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.

In 2014, the second scandal surrounding Brady and the Patriots took place with Deflategate, which is still talked about today. The scandal involved the allegations that Brady ordered the deflation of footballs used in the Patriots’ postseason win over the Indianapolis Colts in the 2014 AFC Championship Game. New England went on to advance to the Super Bowl after that game and take down the Seattle Seahawks to claim the league title.

As a result of those allegations, Brady ended up eventually being suspended by the NFL for four regular-season games and the team was fined $1 million and had two draft picks taken away in 2016.

In this documentary on ESPN in 2021, it will be really interesting to see if ESPN dives more into those scandals and gets the perspective of Brady and others on them having a part of two of the most public and notable scandals in recent history. And perhaps even more information will be brought about if that indeed happens.

Home/New England Patriots