Tom Brady

A 7th-grader named Goodell proved Tom Brady's Deflategate innocence

Published Mar. 8, 2016 8:00 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

If the whole "Deflategate" scandal struck you as something that could have been solved with some junior-high science, you're going to love this one.

The NFL's investigation of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots dragged on for months and cost the involved parties over $20 million to date. Yet seventh-grader Ben Goodell could have saved everyone the trouble with his science project.

Goodell (who insists there's no relation to the NFL commissioner) subjected a regulation NFL football to different weather conditions and climates. Humidity, cold, snow, wind chill -- all the stuff you'd see at a football game was on the table. And the result (via CBS Boston):

Then he took pressure readings. And guess what?

“Every single time I did this test the PSI dropped at least 2 PSI. That means it was scientifically proven that Tom Brady didn’t deflate the footballs, and it was just the weather conditions,” he says.

Flawless victory. Patriots-tality.

A Lynn student whose last name is Goodell backs @Patriots with #DeflateGate science project. https://t.co/ZyKqKuY1LA pic.twitter.com/USQ54OxDsP
— WBZ Boston News (@cbsboston) March 8, 2016

Goodell took home an award for his scientific dilligence as well. Of course, given that the school in question is about an hour's drive away from Gillette Stadium, the judges might not have been impartial. But you can't argue with science.