Since the first day of the Deflategate scandal, players, fans, executives, and everyone in-between have shared their opinions on the situation. Some believe Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are guilty, others believe the exact opposite.
To settle the differences between NFL players, ESPN polled 100 of them to find what they really believe.
The first number that stood out from the results is that 72 percent of the respondents believe the Patriots did indeed deflate footballs. On the other hand, only 42 percent believe the Patriots are cheaters.
The former number seems more along the lines of the public's views, but the latter is likely lower. Most fans do believe the Patriots are cheaters, whether it be for Spygate or Deflategate.
As far as whether or not players are upset about the Patriots' wrongdoing, only 16 percent are. That's not too surprising. What is surprising is that 48 percent believe deflated footballs impact the outcome of games. There's no word on how many of the players surveyed were on the Colts, but one would assume they believed it does affect the outcome of games.
With regards to Brady's suspension and Roger Goodell's handling of the case, players are mostly on the same side. A whopping 88 percent do not believe Goodell should handle discipline of NFL players, and 78 percent think Brady should be suspended for fewer than four games. The average response for how long players think Brady should be suspended was 1.5 games.
All of these numbers are very telling on how players think the situation was handled, and their thoughts on the Patriots. Most NFL players stick together and defend each other, which is evident in the survey results.
For the full survey, visit ESPN.com.
(h/t ESPN)
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