Tom Brady Maintains His Innocence

Tom Brady denied under oath to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that he tampered with footballs before the AFC title game, and investigator Ted Wells testified that he never warned the New England Patriots quarterback he would be punished if he didn't turn over his cellphone.

In a 457-page transcript released Tuesday, Brady maintained his innocence in the Deflategate scandal. He denied discussing air-pressure levels with the ball boys or even thinking about how inflated the footballs were when he selected them. He said he was not aware of the rules that govern the inflation levels of footballs until after an Oct. 16, 2014, game against the New York Jets in which he complained about the size of the footballs.

Brady also said he never asked anyone from the Patriots to tamper with footballs.

Brady was suspended four games and the team was docked $1 million and two draft picks after an NFL-sanctioned investigation by Wells found the Patriots supplied improperly inflated footballs for the conference championship game against the Indianapolis Colts, which New England won 45-7.

Brady appealed the punishment. Goodell decided to hear the appeal himself and upheld the penalty. Both sides went to federal court, and U.S. District Judge Richard Berman told the sides to work out a settlement. To encourage them, he ordered both Brady and Goodell to appear in court in person during the NFL preseason.