The last time we covered Deflategate, it was because Tom Brady was spending his four-game Deflategate suspension sunbathing nude with his wife Gisele. But now that that suspension is over and Brady is back to playing football again, we assumed that would be the last time we would have to mention Deflategate for a long, long, long, long, long time. Unless the Patriots win the Super Bowl and Roger Goodell is forced to hand the Lombardi Trophy to Brady and Bill Belichick in what could ultimately go down as one of the most awkward moments in NFL history, Deflategate is, more or less, over.
Er, at least that’s what we thought! But early Wednesday, Brady of all people put Deflategate back into the news as a result of a new Foot Locker commercial that he starred in. Foot Locker has convinced a few big-time athletes to poke fun at scandals they were involved in—see this commercial starring D’Angelo Russell or this commercial starring Draymond Green for proof of that—but they took it to the next level with their Brady commercial, which features the New England QB talking to two fans at a diner after he overhears them wondering how Foot Locker and their annual Week of Greatness are able to enjoy success year after year.
"Just because something is great year after year doesn’t mean anything is going on," Brady says in the 30-second spot. "Why can’t some things just be great? It starts with questions, and then questions turn into assumptions, and then assumptions turn into vacations. So why would you punish the Week of Greatness for something that never even happened?"
Well played, Tom. This has put Deflategate back into the headlines (it’s even trending on Twitter!) but at least Brady is getting paid for it this time around.
