National Football League

Does Tom Brady's Super Bowl 50 invite deflate Deflategate?

Published Apr. 28, 2015 3:32 p.m. ET

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The NFL has invited New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to take part in a season-long celebration this year in advance of Super Bowl 50. Since he has tied an NFL record for quarterbacks with four Super Bowl victories and is one of the greatest football players ever, the decision from the league was a no-brainer.

But does it say anything about Deflategate?

Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday that he expects the Deflategate investigation to conclude "soon." The league must have an idea of what Ted Wells' findings will reveal, which makes us wonder if they would offer to honor Brady's high school, feature him "prominently" on media platforms and have him as an on-field guest at Super Bowl 50 if there was anything in the Wells report that indicated Brady had a hand in cheating or foul play.

"What an honor," Brady wrote on Facebook along with a photo of his invitation. "Hope I have my helmet on for the on-field ceremony in SF! #teameffort."

Maybe we're overthinking it, but plenty of people — including the guy Brady is most often compared to — initially believed that the Patriots intentionally deflated balls and would not have done so without direct order from Brady. Ray Lewis, who has always praised Brady, took it a step further with his criticism of the Patriots.

What an honor... Hope I have my helmet on for the on-field ceremony in SF! #teameffort
Posted by Tom Brady on Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The letter to Brady from the NFL was dated April 16. It's doubtful Goodell and company don't have a decent idea of what is in the Wells report by now. At the very least, I would think the league has determined that Brady was not directly involved — if there was even something to be involved with.

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