ESPN Survey: Deflategate No Big Deal for NFL Players

While Tom Brady‘s exact punishment for his role in Deflategate remains to be determined, one thing was made abundantly clear by a survey released earlier today by ESPN. Brady’s peers around the league don’t consider the heavily covered scandal all that big a deal.

Over 100 NFL players responded to the 13-question survey, and their answers captured a plain indifference about the whole thing, sharply contrasting the emotional reactions from fans and media outlets around the country. For instance, 72% of players say they think the Patriots deflated footballs, but only 16% are actually upset about it. 68% say they think other teams “illegally tamper” with footballs.

Players also expressed their disagreement with Brady’s punishment as it currently stands. When asked what an appropriate suspension would be, the answers averaged out to 1.5 games, and 78% overall agreed four was too many. These are interesting responses, given the perceived dislike of the Pats by the league’s other teams. New England has won four titles and been a dominant team for over a decade. That type of success usually inspires ill will.

That doesn’t seem to be the case, however, at least among the players themselves. Their disagreement with Brady’s punishment may also have something to do with a rapidly growing objection to the league’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, and how he’s been handling the cases of players who run afoul. A whopping 88% of respondents say Goodell alone should not determine player discipline.

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There also seems to be a league-wide consensus that the Patriots will be just fine, even if the reigning Super Bowl MVP has to sit the full four games. 85% believe New England will still make the playoffs if that’s how things play out.

The survey overall seems to indicate a desire to move on from the whole thing and get back to football. Deflategate has taken up the lion’s share of the NFL coverage this offseason, but for the players it’s always been about what happens on the field. Whether the Pats deflated footballs in the AFC Championship game or not, they still annihilated the Colts and went on to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Players around the league are gearing up to try and knock them off, as they would any defending champ. They’re not particularly interested in speculating about something that happened back in January.

Next: Patriots Quest for a 5th Title Begins After Tumultuous Offseason

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