NEW YORK (AP) — An NFL investigation released Wednesday said that New England Patriots employees likely deflated footballs used in the AFC Championship and that quarterback Tom Brady was probably "at least generally aware" of the rules violations. 
 
 The NFL began investigating after the Patriots defeated the Colts 45-7 on January 18. The Colts complained that several footballs were under inflated and the NFL confirmed that 11 of the 12 footballs were under the limit. The investigation started as the Patriots were preparing for the Super Bowl — which they won two weeks later. 
 
 Footballs with less pressure can be easier to grip and catch. Some quarterbacks prefer footballs that have less air. 
 
 The NFL requires balls to be inflated between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch, and each team is responsible for the balls it uses on offense. 
 
 Brady said he prefers footballs inflated to 12.5 pounds per square inch. On many occasions, Brady said he never asked for balls to be deflated outside of the rules. 
 
 The NFL report said "it was more than probable" that Jim McNally, the officials locker room attendant, and John Jastremski, an equipment assistant for the Patriots, were involved in "a deliberate effort to release air" from the footballs after they were examined by the referee. 
 
 The report includes text messages between McNally and Jastremski that imply Brady was requesting footballs deflated below 12.5 pounds per square inch. 
 
 The 243-page report said league investigators found no evidence that coach Bill Belichick and team management knew of the practice. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. 
 
 Investigators hired by the NFL concluded Wednesday that it was “more probable than not” that New England Patriots personnel intentionally deflated footballs and that star quarterback Tom Brady was “at least generally aware.” 
 
 The investigators’ report on what came to be called Deflate-Gate faulted Jim McNally, a Patriots locker room attendant, and John Jastremski, an equipment assistant, for an apparent effort to let air out of game balls for the AFC championship game in January. 
 
 The report found less evidence linking Brady to tampering but found it was probable “that Brady was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski.” 
 
 It quoted text messages between the two, months before the AFC title game, suggesting that Brady was asking for underinflated game balls, and that the quarterback expressed his displeasure when they were not to his liking. 
 
 It also quoted requests from McNally for shoes and signed footballs from Brady in exchange for deflating game balls. 
 
 Read the most revealing texts from the report 
 
 ProFootballTalk: NFL may discipline Brady 
 
 Full coverage from ProFootballTalk 
 
 Before the AFC championship game, McNally took two large bags of game balls, meant for both teams, out of the officials’ locker room and disappeared into a bathroom for a minute and 40 seconds, the report found. 
 
 Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league would “consider what steps to take in light of the report, both with respect to possible disciplinary action and to any changes in protocols that are necessary to avoid future incidents of this type.” 
 
 The Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts 45-7 for the AFC championship, and the Colts complained after the game that some balls were underinflated. Underinflated footballs are easier to catch and throw, particularly in difficult weather, and it was raining during the game. 
 
 Two weeks later, the Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX. After a furor over the game balls, the commissioner asked Ted Wells, a prominent lawyer, to compile the report. It took more than four months and ran to more than 240 pages. 
 
 The Patriots’ owner, Robert Kraft, said he was still convinced that the team had done nothing wrong. 
 
 “To say we are disappointed in its findings, which do not include any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs at the AFC Championship game, would be a gross understatement,” he said in a statement. 
 
 In an interview with the investigators, Brady denied wrongdoing and said that he didn’t even know McNally’s name before the AFC title game. “We found these claims not plausible and contradicted by other evidence,” the report concluded. 
 
 It also found that Brady and Jastremski did not communicate by phone or text for six months — then communicated six times over the three days after suspicions were first raised about ball-tampering. 
 
 In May 2014, long before the season, McNally referred to himself as “the deflator,” according to texts reviewed by the investigators: 
 
 McNally: You workingJastremski: YupMcNally: Nice dude....jimmy needs some kicks....lets make a deal.....come on help the deflatorMcNally: Chill buddy im just (expletive) with you ....im not going to espn........yet 
 
 The report includes further salty text-message exchanges between McNally and Jastremski during the 2014 regular season, as they deal with Brady’s preferences for game balls. 
 
 After Brady complained about the inflation of footballs in a game in October, McNally wrote to Jastremski: “Tom sucks ... im going make that next ball a (expletive) balloon.” 
 
 Another exchange that same month went like this: 
 
 Jastremski: Can’t wait to give you your needle this week :)McNally: (Expletive) tom....make sure the pump is attached to the needle.....(expletive) watermelons comingJastremski: So angryMcNally: The only thing deflating sun..is his passing rating 
 
 In addition, the Colts alerted the league on the day before the AFC title game to concerns about air pressure in Patriots footballs, the report found. General Manager Ryan Grigson wrote: “All the Indianapolis Colts want is a completely level playing field.” 
 
 An attached message from the Colts’ equipment manager, said: 
 
 As far as the gameballs are concerned it is well known around the league that after the Patriots gameballs are checked by the officials and brought out for game usage the ballboys for the patriots will let out some air with a ball needle because their quarterback likes a smaller football so he can grip it better, it would be great if someone would be able to check the air in the game balls as the game goes on so that they don‟t get an illegal advantage. 
 
 An NFL official promised that one of his colleagues would speak to game officials about it. 
 
 At a press conference in January, Brady denied wrongdoing and said that he had never knowingly played with a football that did not meet league regulations. 
 
 “I would never do anything to break the rules,” he said. 
 
 The report cleared Bill Belichick, the head coach, and the Patriots front office in Deflate-Gate. It did fault the Patriots for refusing to make McNally available for a follow-up interview with investigators. The investigators said it was inconsistent with the team’s pledge of full cooperation. ||||| In a major blow to Tom Brady’s golden reputation, a National Football League investigator concluded Wednesday that the Patriots quarterback most likely participated, at least tacitly, in violating the sport’s integrity by using improperly deflated footballs as he guided the team toward a Super Bowl championship. 
 
 A 243-page report on the NFL’s inquiry identified two low-level Patriots employees as the alleged chief conspirators in the scandal and cited “substantial and credible evidence’’ that Brady was “at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities,’’ — despite his insistence to the contrary. 
 
 Continue reading below 
 
 “We found [Brady’s] claims not plausible and contradicted by other evidence,” the NFL’s report said. 
 
 One of the two Patriots workers, a part-time attendant named Jim McNally, described himself in a text recovered by investigators as “the deflator,’’ the report found. 
 
 Brady and the two men appear to have been caught in a web of evidence that ranged from security video footage of McNally suspiciously ducking into a bathroom with a bag full of footballs moments before delivering them to the field, to Brady and the other worker engaging in apparent damage-control calls and texts as soon as reports broke of the purported cheating. 
 
 Continue reading it below 
 
 No other member of the Patriots organization, including owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick, was implicated as a result of the 15-week inquiry. But the findings cast a cloud over the franchise’s fourth Super Bowl title of the century in February, just as the 2007 Spygate affair tainted previous triumphs. 
 
 NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, a close friend of Kraft’s, directed Troy Vincent, the league executive in charge of football operations, to consider disciplinary action, which could include a fine or suspension for Brady. 
 
 Kraft, who earlier professed the franchise’s innocence, lambasted the findings, though he said he will not appeal them and will accept any penalties. 
 
 The inquiry centered on allegations that the Patriots used underinflated footballs in January while defeating the Indianapolis Colts, 45-7, in the American Football Conference championship game to advance to the Super Bowl. Brady has said he prefers balls with lower inflation levels because they are easier to grip and throw. 
 
 “To say we are disappointed in the findings, which do not include any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs at the AFC Championship Game, would be a gross understatement,’’ Kraft said in a statement. “While I respect the independent process of the investigation, the time, effort and resources expended to reach this conclusion are incomprehensible to me.’’ 
 
 The NFL’s findings are based almost entirely on circumstantial evidence, and while investigators appeared to build a persuasive case that inappropriate activity occurred, Kraft suggested there was no smoking gun linking Brady to cheating. 
 
 Brady — who refused to provide his e-mails, text messages, and phone records to league investigators — has not publicly addressed the controversy, which has come to be known as “Deflategate,” since an uncomfortable news conference in January when he was asked directly, “Are you a cheater?’’ 
 
 “I don’t believe so,’’ he replied. “I mean, I feel I always played within the rules.” 
 
 He also rejected the notion that others had acted on his behalf. “I am very comfortable saying nobody did it, as far as I know,” Brady said then. 
 
 Video: Tom Brady says he did not alter the footballs in Colts game 
 
 But his denials in an interview with the NFL investigators ultimately seemed to fall flat. 
 
 “We found [Brady’s] claims not plausible and contradicted by other evidence,” the report said. 
 
 Brady was not available Wednesday. But his father, Tom Brady Sr., was quoted by USA Today as portraying him as a victim of “Framegate.’’ 
 
 “I don’t have any doubt about my son’s integrity — not one bit,” the elder Brady said. “In this country, you’re innocent until proven guilty. It just seems Tommy is now guilty until proven innocent.’’ 
 
 Brady’s next scheduled public appearance is a speaking engagement Thursday at Salem State College. 
 
 The report alleges that McNally, who served as the locker room attendant at Gillette Stadium for NFL officials, and John Jastremski, a Patriots equipment assistant, probably engaged in “a deliberate effort to release air’’ from the footballs after a referee examined them before the game. 
 
 Attempts to reach Jastremski were not successful. When a Boston Globe reporter seeking a comment knocked at McNally’s home in Amherst, N.H., a man standing behind a curtain said, “Get off my land right now.’’ 
 
 The evidence against Brady included text messages between McNally and Jastremski in the three months before the AFC title game. Some texts allegedly implied Brady requested his footballs be deflated below the league’s minimum standard of 12.5 pounds of pressure per square inch. 
 
 Investigators alleged the texts showed Brady was not pleased with the quality of some game balls the attendants had prepared. In one text, McNally complained to Jastremski, “Tom sucks . . . im going [to] make that next ball a [expletive] balloon.’’ 
 
 Jastremski’s alleged reply: “Talked to him last night. He actually brought you up and said you must have a lot of stress trying to get them done.’’ 
 
 The report includes numerous text references to McNally allegedly wanting Brady to sign memorabilia in exchange for deflating balls. 
 
 “Remember to put a couple sweet pig skins ready for tom to sign,” McNally allegedly texted Jastremski. 
 
 The report states, “Taking the text messages as a whole, Brady is a constant reference point in the discussions between McNally and Jastremski about inflation, deflation, needles, and 18 items to be received by McNally.’’ 
 
 Citing videotape evidence and witness interviews, the report alleges that McNally inappropriately removed the Patriots game balls from the officials locker room before the AFC title game and carried them into a restroom near the entrance to the field. He allegedly locked the door and remained there for about 1 minute and 40 seconds before he delivered the balls to the field. 
 
 A scientific consultant hired by the NFL investigators simulated the time it would take to reduce the pressure in 13 footballs by using a needle, and the time was “well under one minute and forty seconds,’’ according to the findings. 
 
 The report states that Colts general manager Ryan Grigson alerted the NFL before the game to be aware of the Patriots possibly deflating footballs. And after one of Brady’s passes was intercepted in the first half, the Colts tested the ball and told officials it was underinflated. 
 
 That prompted the officials to test 11 of the Patriots footballs at halftime, and each one was found to be inflated below the league minimum, the report states. Four Colts balls were tested and deemed legal. 
 
 Soon after the first news stories about the Patriots’ alleged wrongdoing broke on Jan. 19, Brady and Jastremski engaged in a number of telephone and text communications investigators cite as additional evidence that Brady was aware of the inappropriate activity. 
 
 Brady and Jastremski had not communicated by phone or text for more than six months before then. But at 7:26 a.m. on Jan. 19, the morning after the AFC title game, they spoke by phone for the first of six times over the next three days, their conversations lasting a total of more than 55 minutes. 
 
 The report alleges Brady also invited Jastremski to his office at Gillette Stadium, and investigators said Brady sent Jastremski text messages apparently aimed at calming him. “You good Jonny boy?’’ one text from Brady allegedly read. “Still nervous; so far so good though,’’ Jastremski wrote back, according to the report. 
 
 Brady and Jastremski then allegedly contradicted each other in interviews with investigators. Brady, while denying any knowledge or involvement in wrongdoing, told the investigators he did not know McNally’s name or his game-day duties. 
 
 However, Jastremski told investigators Brady did know McNally’s name and his game-day responsibilities, the report states. In addition, McNally was said to have told NFL security officials that Brady personally told him which inflation level he preferred for his footballs. 
 
 Investigators complained the Patriots refused to make McNally available for a final interview on “important topics,’’ a complaint that Kraft said “offended’’ him. “What the report fails to mention is that he had already been interviewed four times and we felt the fifth request was excessive for a part-time game-day employee who has a full-time job with another employer,’’ Kraft said. 
 
 Regarding the number of times McNally was interviewed, the report states only that the team counsel refused to make McNally available for “a follow-up interview” regarding what investigators deemed “important topics.” 
 
 The investigation, led by Theodore V. Wells Jr., a private attorney commissioned by the NFL, included analysis by scientific consultants who concluded that no other factor such as weather caused the Patriots’ balls to deflate. 
 
 Kraft took exception to the finding that weather played no role. “Based on the explanations I have heard and the studies that have been done, I don’t know how the science of atmospheric conditions can be refuted or how conclusions to the contrary can be drawn without some definitive evidence,’’ he said. 
 
 Investigators interviewed more than 65 witnesses, including Belichick. ||||| It seems like so long ago, we were talking about ethics in deflated balls. Ted Wells released his investigation into the Patriots’ tampering of the footballs today. The 243-page document can be found here. 
 
 The report’s conclusions believe it’s “more probable than not” that Patriots personnel tried to break the rules, and that Tom Brady was likely aware of the practice of deflating balls. 
 
 An excerpt: 
 
 For the reasons described in this Report, and after a comprehensive investigation, we have concluded that, in connection with the AFC Championship Game, it is more probable than not that New England Patriots personnel participated in violations of the Playing Rules and were involved in a deliberate effort to circumvent the rules. In particular, we have concluded that it is more probable than not that Jim McNally (the Officials Locker Room attendant for the Patriots) and John Jastremski (an equipment assistant for the Patriots) participated in a deliberate effort to release air from Patriots game balls after the balls were examined by the referee. Based on the evidence, it also is our view that it is more probable than not that Tom Brady (the quarterback for the Patriots) was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski involving the release of air from Patriots game balls. [...] We do not believe that the evidence establishes that any other Patriots personnel participated in or had knowledge of the violation of the Playing Rules or the deliberate effort to circumvent the rules described in this Report. In particular, we do not believe there was any wrongdoing or knowledge of wrongdoing by Patriots ownership, Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick or any other Patriots coach in the matters investigated. We also do not believe there was any wrongdoing or knowledge of wrongdoing by Patriots Head Equipment Manager Dave Schoenfeld. 
 
 As for the kicking ball introduced during the second half, the report finds that the Patriots didn’t intentionally try to switch balls. 
 
 Based on the evidence, the investigation has further concluded that that there was no deliberate attempt by the Patriots to introduce to the playing field a non-approved kicking ball during the AFC Championship Game. Although Patriots personnel provided a kicking ball to game officials that did not have the distinctive inspection mark of the referee, we find that the Patriots personnel involved believed the ball to be authentic and appropriate. We do not believe that there was any attempt by Patriots personnel, including Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski, to deliberately circumvent the rules by offering the kicking ball for play. 
 
 We’ll be updating this post as we go through the report. If you find anything interesting, put it in the comments. 
 
 Update (1:33 p.m.): There are some quality texts between Patriots locker room attendant Jim McNally and Patriots equipment assistant John Jastremski: 
 
 Update (1:45 p.m.): In a statement on the Patriots’ site, owner Bob Kraft said he was “disappointed” in the report’s findings. 
 
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 Update (1:50 p.m.): Page 18 of the report presents evidence that Brady was aware of the deflated balls, and talked to Jastremski over the phone multiple times after the scandal broke: 
 
 Additional evidence of Brady‟s awareness includes a material increase in the frequency of telephone and text communications between Brady and Jastremski shortly after suspicions of ball tampering became public on January 19. After not communicating by telephone or text message for more than six months (based on data retrieved from Jastremski‟s cell phone), Brady and Jastremski spoke by telephone at least twice on January 19 (calls lasting a total of 25 minutes and 2 seconds), twice on January 20 (calls lasting a total of 9 minutes and 55 seconds) and twice on January 21 (calls lasting a total of 20 minutes and 52 seconds) before Jastremski surrendered his cell phone to the Patriots later that day for forensic imaging. These calls included conversations relatively early during the mornings of January 19 (7:26 a.m. for 13 minutes and 4 seconds), January 20 (8:22 a.m. for 6 minutes and 21 seconds) and January 21 (7:38 a.m. for 13 minutes and 47 seconds). Brady also took the unprecedented step of inviting Jastremski to the QB room (essentially Brady‟s office) in Gillette Stadium on January 19 for the first and only time that Jastremski can recall during his twenty-year career with the Patriots, and Brady sent Jastremski text messages seemingly designed to calm Jastremski (“You good Jonny boy?”; “You doing good?”). For his part, Jastremski sent Brady text messages confirming that he was okay (“Still nervous; so far so good though”) and cautioning Brady about questioning (“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...”). 
 
 Update (2:14 p.m.): Pages 29-30 of the report explain that the league acquired text messages from “Patriots-provided mobile phones,” which means Jastremski and McNally were just talking about the stuff they did on work phones: 
 
 The NFL retained Renaissance Associates, an investigative firm with extensive forensic expertise, to retrieve data (including text messages, contact information and telephone call logs) from the Patriots-provided mobile phones of certain Patriots personnel. These mobile phones were provided directly to Renaissance Associates by the Patriots. The Patriots also provided copies of select text messages and a call log retrieved from Jim McNally‟s personal mobile phone, which had not been provided to Renaissance Associates. 
 
 Update (3:23 p.m.): Colts GM Ryan Grigson and equipment manager Sean Sullivan were aware of the Patriots’ tendency to mess with balls, and warned the NFL a day before the AFC title game. 
 
 Photo: Matt Slocum/AP 
 
 Contact the author at samer@deadspin.com.
– The NFL has produced a 243-page report on whether the Patriots cheated with under-inflated footballs, and it concludes with a definite maybe. As in, "it is more probable than not" that team personnel tinkered with footballs before the AFC title game and that Tom Brady was probably "at least generally aware" of said tinkering, report the Boston Globe and AP. The report singles out two Patriots employees, locker room attendant Jim McNally and equipment assistant John Jastremski, as the maybe-probable culprits, but the NFL hasn't decided whether they or Brady or the team will face penalties. Team owner Robert Kraft: "To say we are disappointed in its findings, which do not include any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs at the AFC Championship game, would be a gross understatement," he says in a statement picked up at NBC. Maybe the best part is the report's inclusion of texts between the two team employees in which they sound a little miffed about Brady's complaints about footballs. A sampling as cited by Deadspin: McNally: "Tom sucks," he wrote after Brady complained about how balls were inflated in an October game. "im going make that next ball a f----- balloon." McNally: "F--- tom....make sure the pump is attached to the needle.....f------ watermelons coming" Jastremski: "So angry" McNally: "The only thing deflating sun..is his passing rating"