The latest claims of cheating against New England picked up steam Tuesday thanks to the Patriots themselves, as Tom Brady admitted in an unearthed 2011 interview with a Boston radio station that he liked to use under-inflated footballs.

Brady laughed off the allegation as “ridiculous” to the same station on Monday, but he told WEEI three years ago he prefers the deflated effect that results from 265-pound tight end Rob Gronkowski spiking the ball.

“When Gronk scores … he spikes the ball and he deflates the ball,” Brady said in the 2011 interview. “I love that, because I like the deflated ball. But I feel bad for that football, because he puts everything he can into those spikes.”

The NFL expects to complete its investigation into allegations the Patriots under-inflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game by the end of the week, according to a high-ranking league official.

Troy Vincent, the NFL’s vice president of football operations, told NBC Sports the league wants to wrap up the investigation quickly so as not to take attention away from Super Bowl XLIX next week.

If proven the Patriots under-inflated balls, the team faces fines of at least $25,000 and potentially the loss of draft picks.

“We obviously want to … get that behind us so that we can really get back to the game itself,” Vincent told NBC’s “Pro Football Talk Live.”

A league source confirmed media reports the Colts alerted the league about under-inflated footballs after linebacker D’Qwell Jackson intercepted Brady near the goal line in the second quarter of the Patriots’ eventual 45-7 victory at Gillette Stadium.

The officials were informed at halftime, then removed at least one football for testing in the third quarter — a moment that produced a noticeable delay in play. A league source said that was just one of several balls set aside for inspection by the officiating crew.

According to NFL rules, all non-kicking game balls — there are at least 24 in circulation, with 12 provided by each team — must have between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch of pressure.

Quarterbacks and receivers prefer a deflated ball because it is easier to throw and catch, though Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers told a Milwaukee radio station Tuesday he likes an over-inflated ball instead because he has bigger hands.

“My belief is that there should be a minimum air-pressure requirement but not a maximum,” Rodgers told ESPN Milwaukee. “There’s no advantage, in my opinion — we’re not kicking the football — there’s no advantage in having a pumped-up football.”

While the allegations might seem trivial to some, Vincent said the league is serious about them because the integrity of the game is at stake.

“For a fan, you want to know that everything’s equal,” Vincent said. “The integrity of the game is so important.”