Tom Brady was leading a tour through a set of fat binders that he keeps in his den, with each one devoted to one of the 18 seasons he has played in the N.F.L. This one, marked “2016,” began with a particular memento.

“I still keep this,” Brady, the New England Patriots quarterback, said, holding a document up to the camera. “It’s my suspension letter.”

That would be the missive he received from 345 Park Avenue informing him he would be sidelined for the first four games of the 2016 season for his role in the still-hard-to-believe football air-pressure “scandal” known as Deflategate. As the camera focused on Brady, his face became stuck in a smile that could be characterized as something between goofy and satisfied (and with the whiff of a smirk).

“Thank you,” Brady said, to whom it was not clear exactly. He turned the page, and next thing you know he was winning another ring.