Brady Spent Almost an Hour on Phone Calls with Equipment Assistant After Deflated Balls Story Broke

Tom Brady was a frequent subject of conversation in text exchanges between Jim McNally and John Jastremski, the two Patriots’ employees directly implicated in the deflation scheme. However, there was no direct indication of conversation between Brady and either of them (other than by implication in those texts from Jastremski).

The only other personal contact noted was directly before the Baltimore playoff game, where the report states that McNally (the deflator) got autographed footballs and an autograph on a previously owned jersey from Brady in the equipment room.

Then, curiously, phone communication between Brady and Jastremski increased. In another section that I’m sure Bill Simmons has already read, and found to be much ado about nothing, the report details how Brady’s phone activity picked up suddenly after the allegations and reports of an investigation into deflated balls began.

There was no evidence of phone calls or texts between Brady and Jastremski in the six months prior, but on January 19th, that changed. The report details the following:

Two calls lasting 25 minutes and 2 seconds on January 19th;
Two calls lasting 9 minutes and 55 seconds on January 20th;
Two calls lasting 20 minutes and 52 seconds on January 21st.

That totals 55 minutes and 49 seconds worth of calls between Tom Brady and the equipment assistant, and they ended when Jastremski surrendered his phone on January 21st, for forensic investigation.

What was said? There is no record of that, but the two also met on the 19th and exchanged texts. On that first day after the news broke, the Wells report says that Brady invited Jastremski to the QB room, the only time that has happened in the twenty years Jastremski had been with the team, according to what he told investigators. (There is no indication of how long that meeting took).

Brady also sent texts of “You good Jonny boy?”; “You doing good?” Jastremski responded: “Still nervous; so far so good though” and “FYI…Dave will be picking your brain later about it. He‟s not accusing me, or anyone…trying to get to bottom of it. He knows it‟s unrealistic you did it yourself…”.

The issue of punishment for Tom Brady will be a very much discussed topic, if the NFL accepts the findings in the Wells Report.