We didn’t have to wait long for the NFL to release its decision on New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and his role in the DeflateGate scandal. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that Brady will be suspended for the first four games of the 2015 NFL season without pay for conduct detrimental to the integrity of the NFL.
NFL: #Patriots QB Tom Brady is suspended without pay for the first four games of 2015 for conduct detrimental to the integrity of the NFL
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 11, 2015
In addition to Brady’s suspension, the Patriots will be fined $1 million and will be stripped of their 2016 first-round draft pick and a fourth round pick in 2017.
#Patriots were fined $1M and will forfeit the first-round selection in 2016 nd the club’s fourth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. Wow.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 11, 2015
It’s a heavy-handed suspension from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who faced a firestorm of criticism last season for his two-game suspension of Ray Rice following the domestic abuse scandal. News broke last week that investigators discovered Brady had been in direct communication with the team’s ball boys to make sure they put the desired amount of air into the footballs.
The four-game suspension for Brady means 23-year-old backup Jimmy Garoppolo, a second-year quarterback from Eastern Illinois, will get his first real shot to prove he’s the Patriots quarterback of the future.
