We know that Tom Brady was “generally aware” about the tampering of footballs, according to the Wells Report, and we know about his role (non-role) in Deflategate, but who are the others? Who are the people ultimately responsible for Tom Brady’s four-game suspension?

Jim McNally

McNally is the so-called “deflator” and the man who allegedly tampered with footballs. His official title with the Patriots is “game-day attendant,” though it appears he does much more than that. His back-and-forth texts with fellow employee John Jastremski was the most incriminating for Brady.

John Jastremski

Jastremski is the equipment assistant who communicated with Brady after Deflategate blew up.
Brady: “You good jonny boy?”
Jastremski: “Still nervous; so far so good though.”
Brady: “You didn’t do anything wrong bud”
Jastremski: “I know. I’ll be all good.”

Both McNally are Jastremski have been suspended indefinitely by the team.

Troy Vincent

If McNally is the “deflator,” then Vincent is the “punisher.” The NFL’s Executive President and Roger Goodell’s hammer released this statement regarding Deflategate:

“Another important consideration identified in the Policy is ‘the extent to which the club and relevant individuals cooperated with the investigation.’ The Wells report identifies two significant failures in this respect. The first involves the refusal by the club’s attorneys to make Mr. McNally available for an additional interview, despite numerous requests by Mr. Wells and a cautionary note in writing of the club’s obligation to cooperate in the investigation. The second was the failure of Tom Brady to produce any electronic evidence (emails, texts, etc.), despite being offered extraordinary safeguards by the investigators to protect unrelated personal information. Although we do not hold the club directly responsible for Mr. Brady’s refusal to cooperate, it remains significant that the quarterback of the team failed to cooperate fully with the investigation.

“Finally, it is significant that key witnesses — Mr. Brady, Mr. Jastremski, and Mr. McNally — were not fully candid during the investigation.

Bob Kravitz

The reporter responsible for breaking Deflategate following the AFC Championship on January 18. He is a columnist for WTHR in Indiana.

Ted Wells

Wells is a popular criminal attorney who previously handled the Richie Incognito investigation for the NFL. He also looked into the mishandling of the Syracuse sexual assault investigation of assistant coach Bernie Fine.

His 243-page report on Deflategate took more than 14 weeks to complete.

Walt Anderson

Anderson was the head referee during the the 2015 AFC Championship between the Patriots and the Colts, and the man responsible for measuring the air pressure of the deflated balls. Anderson’s recollection of events from that game were called into question in the Wells Report.

Referee Walt Anderson didn’t clearly recall which gauge he used to set the pressure in the Patriots balls at 12.5 PSI before the game. Page 52 of the Wells report reveals that it was Anderson’s “best recollection” that he used before the game the gauge with the logo and the longer, crooked needle. In other words, Anderson recalls using the gauge before the game that, based on the halftime measurements, leads to a finding of no tampering.

So how did Ted Wells get around the “best recollection” of Walt Anderson? Wells persuaded Anderson to admit that it’s “certainly possible” he used the other gauge. And the company hired to provide technical support for the Wells report concluded based on a convoluted explanation appearing at pages 116-17 of the report that it is “more probable than not” that Anderson used the other gauge.