Colts GM Ryan Grigson's Tip Helped Spark Deflategate, Reveals Troy Vincent

When the Deflategate scandal erupted following the New England Patriots' AFC Championship Game win over the Indianapolis Colts, many wondered how the NFL became aware of the situation. That question has finally been answered. 

According to ESPN.com, NFL football operations chief Troy Vincent revealed in an interview on Showtime's "60 Minutes Sports" that Colts general manager Ryan Grigson tipped off the league regarding New England's use of under-inflated footballs.

Per ESPN's Chris Mortensen, the NFL found after investigating the matter that 11 of the footballs used by the Pats in their 45-7 romp over the Colts weren't inflated to proper levels:

"

NFL has found that 11 of the Patriots footballs used in Sunday’s AFC title game were under-inflated by 2 lbs each, per league sources.

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 21, 2015"

In the wake of the league's findings, the Patriots have attempted to absolve themselves from any blame. Head coach Bill Belichick made it clear that he had no knowledge of any type of tampering with the footballs, according to ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss:

Quarterback Tom Brady echoed those sentiments, per NFL Network's Albert Breer:

The Patriots ultimately went on to dramatically defeat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX, but Deflategate will continue to be a huge topic of discussion until it is ultimately resolved.

Vincent's revelation that Grigson started the probe makes the situation a bit clearer; however, the focus moving forward will be on what type of punishment, if any, the Patriots incur.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter