Goodell: DeflateGate Investigation Completed, Will Be Released 'Relatively Soon'
BOSTON (CBS) -- It is finally over.
"It," in this instance, is Ted Wells' investigation into DeflateGate, an endeavor that has taken more than three full months. But Roger Goodell said Friday morning on The Dan Patrick Show that Wells' investigation is complete.
"There is no timeline [for the release of the report], but he's done the investigation portion of it and is in the process of writing the report," Goodell told guest host Ross Tucker. "So I suspect that it will be relatively soon. I don't know when that will be. When he's completed the report, he will deliver it to me and then we'll release it publicly."
The investigation officially began on Jan. 23, five days after the Patriots defeated the Colts in the AFC Championship Game, 45-7. After that game, WTHR's Bob Kravitz reported that the NFL was investigating whether or not the Patriots used footballs that were not inflated to the proper PSI level during the game.
Two days later, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that 11 of the 12 footballs used by the Patriots were "inflated significantly below the NFL's requirements." And with that report, "DeflateGate" immediately became a major national storyline for the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl.
READ: 12 Things That Took Less Time Than DeflateGate Investigation
Bill Belichick and Tom Brady denied any wrongdoing, and Patriots owner Robert Kraft demanded an eventual apology from the NFL upon his arrival in Arizona for Super Bowl week. While various reports placing blame on various different parties around the league have since been released. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that an NFL employee has already been fired for stealing footballs on the sideline that night in Foxboro so that he could sell the footballs for profit.
While many mysteries still remain about the situation, the hope is that Wells' report has at least figured out what exactly happened. And the world will know "relatively soon."