More than seven years after the so-called "Deflategate" scandal erupted, new information has emerged on both its beginnings and fallout.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and NBC Sports joins Tom E. Curran on the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast to relive one of the most surreal events from the New England dynasty, including a question that remains unanswered: What ever happened to the data the NFL collected on football PSI levels during the 2015 season?
Florio, whose book Playmakers: How the NFL Really Works (and Doesn't) is released next month, has said that the PSI numbers were expunged on the order of NFL general counsel Jeff Pash.
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"I leave it to the imagination and to the application of common sense as to why those numbers would be expunged," Florio said. "Did they fit the narrative that the NFL was trying to push regarding the Patriots, or did they debunk the narrative? If they fit the narrative, I doubt they would have been expunged; I think they would have been released for everyone to see, just like the Deflategate report was."
Patriots Talk: The poison of Deflategate still lives in the NFL's system | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
Once the science behind Chris Mortensen's now-infamous report that 11 of 12 football were underinflated by two pounds in the 2014 AFC Championship Game was debunked, Florio said the NFL began noticing it during the spot checks it had promised at halftime of games in the 2015 regular season.
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"On hot days, the pressure is up at halftime, on cold days, the pressure is down," Florio said. "Imagine that? It's exactly what everyone was trying to tell the NFL when they were trying to determine cheating."
The ideal gas law remains undefeated.
Later on in the episode, Florio shares his thoughts on the Brian Flores’ lawsuit and how he’d solve the issues with NFL ownership and governorship.
"I think that the real question is this, and I think what should happen -- which won't happen -- but should is, all of these teams should be made into public corporations with publicly traded stock," Florio said.
Florio acknowledged corporate governances is far from flawless, but NFL owners currently have no one to answer to but themselves.
"There's no ultimate accountability for the owner of an NFL team, especially when the other owners are willing to rally around him and circle the wagons -- for example that Daniel Synder doesn't get run out as owner of the Washington Commanders because they don't ever want to be in a similar position," Florio said. "If they protect him, they protect themselves."
Also discussed in this episode: Curran and Florio also break out the gradebook to discuss Roger Goodell's marks as NFL commissioner.
Check out the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast on the NBC Sports Boston Podcast Network, or watch on YouTube.