Tom Brady Had An Interesting Response When Asked If He Would Be Completely Exonerated For Deflategate

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When first faced with questions about allegations against the New England Patriots of deflating the footballs during their win in the AFC Championship game, Tom Brady flatly denied any knowledge of how it happened. But in an interview that will air on Super Bowl Sunday, Brady's tone seems to have changed.

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On Tuesday, Brady sat down with Bob Costas of NBC for an interview that will air prior to the Super Bowl. On Wednesday, Costas was a guest on "The Dan Patrick Show" and spoke briefly about the conversation (emphasis ours).

"I asked [Brady] at one point, 'so you're telling me, when this investigation is complete, which the [NFL] is now saying will not be until after the Super Bowl, you will be - I don't think I used the word exonerated - but, be they fan or foe, no one will be able to pin anything on Tom Brady,'" Costas told Dan Patrick. "and he said something to the affect of 'well, let's just wait and see how it comes out.' Which I thought was an intriguing answer."

Patrick asked if Costas followed up to see what Brady meant by the answer and Costas simply responded, "I think [the answer] kind of spoke for itself."

The answer is intriguing because Brady originally said that he personally "didn't alter the balls in any way" and that he didn't know how the balls became deflated, suggesting he is completely innocent of any wrongdoing.

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However, Brady's answer to Costas could be used to validate the growing belief of many that the Patriots' continued confidence that no rules were broken may be a sign that the team used a loophole or a way around the rules in order to use footballs that were underinflated.

One example is the theory that the footballs could have been inflated with hot air, something that would cause the pressure to drop without actually deflating the balls.

In other words, maybe the Patriots followed the letter of the law while ignoring the spirit of the law.

Either way, Brady suddenly sounds a lot less confident that he is going to escape this scandal unscathed.