The NFL investigation that found the Patriots likely deflated footballs “in a deliberate effort to circumvent the rules” relied heavily on hundreds of text messages between two New England employees – Jim McNally, the officials locker room attendant for the Patriots, and John Jastremski, the team’s equipment manager – during the weeks and months leading up to the AFC Championship Game.  A number of these communications were included in the league’s 243-page report released on Wednesday, the culmination of a nearly four-month investigation headed jointly by NFL executive vice-president Jeff Pash and prominent independent investigator Ted Wells.  Related: Deflategate: read the NFL's official report  What follows is a sampling of the text-message exchanges, throughout which Jastremski generally refers to McNally by his nickname “Bird”:  During the offseason McNally and Jastremski exchanged the following texts in which McNally referred to himself as “the deflator”:  McNally (4:39:40pm): Nice dude....jimmy needs some kicks....lets make a deal.....come on help the deflator  McNally (4:47:15pm): Chill buddy im just fuckin with you ....im not going to espn........yet  (The investigators note these messages were among those they were unable to discuss with McNally due to the refusal of counsel for the Patriots to arrange a follow-up interview with McNally.)  During a Thursday night game against the New York Jets in New England, Brady complained on the sidelines about the feel and inflation level of the game balls. With the Patriots leading 17-6 at halftime, Jastremski exchanged text messages with an unidentified recipient concerning Brady’s complaints:  Jastremski (9:51:22pm): Tom is acting crazy about balls  Unidentified recipient (9:51:27pm): Ready to vomit!  Unidentified recipient (9:53:04pm): He saying there not good enough??  Jastremski told investigators that Brady “knows that Jim is the referees locker room attendant,” and recalled Brady said something like, “isn’t he in there to make sure the balls are staying where they should be?” Jastremski said that he mentioned Brady’s comment to McNally on the sideline, to which McNally responded “fuck Tom”. But when interviewed by investigators, Brady claimed he did not know McNally’s name or anything about McNally’s game-day responsibilities prior to the AFC Championship Game, including whether McNally had any responsibilities relating to game balls.  Shortly after 9am on the morning after the Patriots’ 27-25 win over the Jets, McNally and Jastremski exchanged the following messages:  McNally (9:05:45am): Tom sucks...im going make that next ball a fuckin balloon  Jastremski (9:07:08am): Talked to him last night. He actually brought you up and said you must have a lot of stress trying to get them done...  Jastremski (9:07:37am): I told him it was. He was right though...  Jastremski (9:08:07am): I checked some of the balls this morn... The refs fucked us...a few of then were at almost 16  Jastremski (9:08:29am): They didnt recheck then after they put air in them  McNally (9:16:31am): Fuck tom ...16 is nothing...wait till next sunday  When interviewed, both Jastremski and McNally told investigators that McNally’s “fuckin balloon” message referenced Brady’s conduct during the Jets game. One hour prior to this exchange, Jastremski sent the following messages to his fiancée:  Jastremski (8:04:56am): Ugh...Tom was right.  Jastremski (8:05:23am): I just measured some of the balls. They supposed to be 13 lbs... They were like 16. Felt like bricks  McNally and Jastremski exchanged the following text messages ahead of a Sunday game against the Chicago Bears:  McNally (1:56:13pm): Make sure you blow up the ball to look like a rugby ball so tom can get used to it before sunday  When interviewed, McNally told investigators his reference to “a rugby ball” meant a heavily inflated football.  Three days before the Bears game, Jastremski and McNally exchanged the following messages:  Jastremski (6:47:21pm): Can’t wait to give you your needle this week :)  McNally (6:54:40pm): Fuck tom....make sure the pump is attached to the needle.....fuckin watermelons coming  McNally (7:04:42pm): The only thing deflating sun..is his passing rating  The next day, Jastremski and McNally exchanged the following messages:  Jastremski (4:47:53pm): I have a big needle for u this week  McNally (5:00:59pm): Better be surrounded by cash and newkicks....or its a rugby sunday  Jastremski (5:15:52pm): Maybe u will have some nice size 11s in ur locker  McNally (5:31:07pm): Tom must really be working your balls hard this week  The day before the Chicago game, McNally and Jastremski exchanged the following messages:  Jastremski (3:14:54pm): 2 or 3X?  McNally (4:05:34pm): Tom must really be on you  McNally (4:05:39pm): 11 0r 11 half......2x unless its tight fitting  Jastremski (4:06:39pm): Nah. Hasn’t even mentioned it, figured u should get something since he gives u nothing  Jastremski (4:07:12pm): Granted I already left stadium so unless Dave leaves room tomorrow then it’ll wait till next week  McNally told investigators he understood “unless Dave leaves the room” as a reference to New England head equipment manager Dave Schoenfeld and that he did not want Schoenfeld to see Jastremski provide McNally with clothing and sneakers. Jastremski believes he gave McNally the requested gear – a hooded sweatshirt and a pair of sneakers – sometime around 7 January 2015 ahead of the Patriots’ AFC divisional playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens.  A text message sent by McNally to Jastremski at 6.01pm ET during a Patriots road game against the Green Bay Packers includes another reference to football deflation:  McNally (6:01:08pm): Deflate and give somebody that jkt  With kickoff scheduled for 4.25pm ET, it’s likely the text message was sent at or around halftime. Investigators were unable to discuss the message with McNally because counsel for the Patriots refused to make McNally available for a requested follow-up interview.  Eleven days before the AFC Championship Game, McNally and Jastremski discussed how McNally would have a “big autograph day” and receive items autographed by Brady the following weekend, before the playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens. McNally and Jastremski exchanged the following text messages:  McNally (9:48:03am): Remember to put a couple sweet pig skins ready for tom to sign  Jastremski (9:48:26pm): U got it kid...big autograph day for you  McNally (9:51:19am): Nice throw some kicks in and make it real special  Jastremski (9:51:44am): It ur lucky. 11?  McNally (10:10:11am): 11 or 11 and half kid  At 7.04am the morning after the AFC Championship Game, Jastremski accessed the Pro Football Talk story that had been posted at 2.19am regarding the NFL’s investigation of the deflation issue. At 7.25am after an exchange of texts with Schoenfeld, Jastremski sent the following text to Brady:  Jastremski (7:25:18am): Call me when you get a second  Brady called Jastremski less than a minute later and they spoke for 13 minutes, four seconds. Although he told NFL security investigators on 20 January that he’d not discussed the deflation issue with anyone other than McNally, Jastremski told investigators in February that he discussed the issue with Brady during this call. Jastremski added this was “probably” the only conversation he had with Brady, by phone or in person, addressing the deflation issue.  Approximately two and a half hours after that phone call, Brady followed up with Jastremsky by text message:  Brady (9:51:54am): You good Jonny boy?  Jastremski (9:53:27am): Still nervous; so far so good though. I‟ll be alright  Brady (9:54:16am): You didn’t do anything wrong bud.  Jastremski (9:55:01am): I know; I’ll be all good  When interviewed by investigators, Brady recalled that Jastremski had been worried because he was responsible for the preparation of game balls. Brady said he believed Jastremski would be asked a lot of questions by the organization and sent these messages to show his support. The exchange continued one hour later:  Jastremski (10:54:40am): FYI...Dave will be picking your brain later about it. He’s not accusing me, or anyone...trying to get to bottom of it. He knows it’s unrealistic you did it yourself...  Jastremski (10:55:32am): Just a heads up  Brady (10:59:32am): No worries bud. We are all good  Jastremski denied that the “it” in his 10:54:40 message referenced the deflation of footballs. Later that day, Brady sent Jastremski a text message requesting they meet:  Brady (2:38:09pm): Jj are you here?  Brady (2:38:34pm): Come to qb room  Jastremski acknowledged that in 20 years with the Patriots, he’d never previously met with Brady in the QB room. He said the meeting lasted a few minutes and did not discuss anything relating to the mounting investigation of game balls. Brady recalls requesting the meeting with Jastremski because he was already preparing for the Super Bowl and wanted to know the game balls would be prepared. He acknowledged the deflation investigation may have come up during the meeting.
Texts between two Patriots staff members suggest the pair worked together to deliberately deflate game balls for Tom Brady