Former NFL QB A.J. Feeley says he saw Tom Brady use illegal footballs

“Prior to Tommy and Peyton Manning going to the league and saying, ‘Let us doctor our balls' we used to all play with the same balls,” Feeley told 97.5 The Fanatic, via PFT.

(In 2006, two years after Feeley says he saw Brady breaking the rules, the NFL allowed teams to provide their own footballs for use during games, thanks largely to the lobbying efforts of Brady and Manning.)

Feeley continued: “Somehow this beat-up ball from the ball boy was getting thrown in on offense for New England, yet when we were on offense this orange brand new ball was getting thrown in.”

So for those of you who think January's AFC Championship Game wasn't the first time Brady and the Patriots were guilty of skirting the rules, here's your (alleged) smoking gun. For those of you wondering why Feeley waited 11 years to speak up, that's a fair question. Either way, Feeley says he didn't appreciate the gamesmanship.

“He's getting his own balls thrown in on offense,” Feeley said. “That was an issue to me at the time. …We saw it then.”

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