New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady talks to the media during a press conference to address the under inflation of footballs used in the AFC championship game at Gillette Stadium on January 22, 2015 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady talks to the media during a press conference to address the under inflation of footballs used in the AFC championship game at Gillette Stadium on January 22, 2015 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

FOXBORO, Mass. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Tom Brady smiled away the Tuck Rule on the way to his first Super Bowl victory, flashing that dimple-chinned grin that said, “I had it all the time.”

The New England Patriots’ illegal videotaping. His name popping up in baseball’s steroid investigation. Shenanigans with the NFL injury list. An out-of-wedlock child with the actress he jilted before marrying the world’s richest supermodel.

Nothing stuck to Teflon Tom.

But the league investigation into the deflated footballs used in this year’s AFC championship game might do what none of the other controversies and near-misses could: tarnish the legacy of Tom Brady, a four-time Super Bowl champion and the title game’s reigning MVP.

And it could result in a suspension “that could span up to one season,” according to the Miami Herald.

In a 243-page report, NFL investigator Ted Wells found that Patriots employees violated the league rules covering game balls, and that Brady was “at least generally aware” of the plans to doctor the footballs to his liking. The report found some of Brady’s claims were “implausible,” adding: “It is unlikely that an equipment assistant and a locker room attendant would deflate game balls without Brady’s knowledge and approval.”

The findings were forwarded to the league’s disciplinary chief for potential punishment. Brady could be fined or face a suspension that would keep him out of Week 1 — the marquee league opener at which the Super Bowl banner would traditionally be raised — or longer.

“Everything is being studied, everything is being considered,” up to and including a yearlong ban, a league source told the Herald’s Armando Salguero.

Salguero wrote that, according to his source, “it would be wrong to dismiss such an extended and seemingly improbable length of time as the ceiling for discipline.” His anonymous source wouldn’t disclose the minimum punishment being considered.

Some "more-probable-than-not", opening-night starters in Foxboro: NE QB: Jimmy Garoppolo NE RB: Jonas Gray PITT RB: DeAngelo Williams. — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 7, 2015

The Patriots did not respond to a request for a comment from Brady or coach Bill Belichick, who was exonerated in the report. The team canceled a previously scheduled availability for Thursday.

“What I see is that he goes from being ‘Tom Perfect’ to ‘Tom Not-So-Perfect’ in some people’s eyes,” Marc Ganis, president of sports business consulting firm SportsCorp, said Wednesday after the release of the NFL’s report on the scandal that came to be known as “Deflategate.”

Owner Bob Kraft issued a spirited statement in defense of his team and questioned Wells’ conclusions. “To say we are disappointed in its findings, which do not include any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs at the AFC Championship Game, would be a gross understatement,” he said.

But Wells concluded there was no plausible explanation for the deflated footballs except deliberate tampering. And text messages to and about Brady led the investigator to conclude that he was aware, if not more actively involved, in the scheme.

Brady must be suspended for minimum of 2-4 gms, Belichick gets 1 yr and tm loses 1st rd draft pick 2016-17. Tm gets fined the max. — shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) May 6, 2015

Ppl will say Coach Belichick didn't know. In the words of Commish Goodell to S. Payton. You're the hd coach. You should've known. — shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) May 6, 2015

Regardless of his punishment, Brady’s legacy is now tied to the scandal. But the main effect of that, Ganis said, could be to solidify opinions that are already largely entrenched: Opposing fans will continue to doubt him, and fans in New England, where he was once seen as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, will rally to his defense.

“As far as his marketability goes, he is still arguably the most marketable player in the NFL,” said Ganis, who grew up a New York Jets fans and is now based in Chicago.

“Tom Brady has been the face of the NFL, with Peyton Manning, for a number of years. He has been an extraordinary ambassador, with cross-over popularity,” he said. “If this is all there is, it will be something that is talked about him when he is elected to the Hall of Fame.”

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)