[ot-caption title=”After the repeal of his suspension, Tom Brady is ready to focus on the field and lead his Patriots this season. (via, Google Images, Wikipedia, Paul Keleher)”]

There is no doubt in anyone’s minds, nor should there be, that Tom Brady is amongst the elite quarterbacks in NFL history. But the drama circulating his Patriots will not stop coming. Whether its “Spygate” or “Deflategate,” cheating scandals have sadly taken a symbolic role in Brady’s career in New England.

“Deflategate” went from what seemed like a joke to a highly discussed topic in the sports and news media. So, in case you have been living under a rock for all of 2015, here is a brief recap of the “Deflategate” scandal.

January 18, 2015 – The Patriots win the AFC title game, sending them to Super Bowl forty-nine against the defending champion Seattle Seahawks. No one thought much of it, but in the first half of the blowout, a Colts linebacker pointed out that the game-footballs felt under-inflated.

January 19, 2015 – NFL investigation begins on the Patriots for intentionally deflating the footballs.

January 20, 2015 – “Deflategate” has become more than a silly name. ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen reports that eleven of the twelve footballs used in the first half of Sunday’s game were purposely and strategically deflated. Tom Brady was pegged as a ringleader in the scandal, as he supposedly preferred less air in the footballs.

February 1, 2015 – Amidst an uncountable number of media reports, scientific analysis, and worldwide coverage of some footballs, the Patriots win the Super Bowl by a score of 28-24.

May 6, 2015 – It was announced that ESPN would marry the “Deflategate” scandal due to three months of non-stop coverage. On a serious note, the NFL released a report that stated it was “more probable than not” that the Patriots deliberately deflated the footballs.

Fast-forward through two court hearings, a whole summer, a NFL offseason, Mr. Donald Trump taking the lead in the Republican nomination race, and lengthy media coverage every time a slither of new detail was released.

September 3, 2015 – Brady’s four game suspension is erased by a federal judge.

So with the Patriots opening win on Thursday, September 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL season underway, will this just be sent to the NFL scandal archives as another meaningless event in the league’s history? The answer is absolutely not. We as fans may not feel it, but within the NFL, the “Brady ruling” is making waves. Whether it is new disciplinary processes, Commissioner Roger Goodell’s legacy, or Brady’s career itself, “Deflategate” is far from over.

Is blaming the scandal on Goodell really a fair assessment of the NFL’s handling of this train wreck? This time, the answer is absolutely yes. Goodell has been botching NFL disciplinary situations for his entire tenure as commissioner. When it involved four-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and not just a backup defensive tackle on the Raiders, the media flocked to the situation. Going to federal court was probably not Goodell’s most desired course of action. Saying his legacy is annihilated may be a slight overstatement, but it is certainly in shambles. Goodell is now appointing a disciplinary panel to take power out of his hands. “Terrific Tom” lucked out with no suspension, and Thursday night demonstrated that Brady is ready to lead the Patriots back to the Super Bowl.

He is a man on a mission.  Brady looked like a war general on a scorched-earth tour that will include everyone in the league up to the commissioner. And if this all culminates with the Patriots standing as the first repeating Super Bowl champion since New England did so ten years ago, Brady’s revenge will be felt.

Sources: ESPN, NBC Sports, CNN