New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning has confessed that he was disappointed to see Tom Brady suspended by the NFL for four matches for his part in the deflategate scandal.

The league believed that they had enough evidence to ban the 37-year-old after a report into the incident deemed that Brady was generally aware that members of the New England Patriots' equipment staff had deflated footballs in his side's AFC championship win over the Indianapolis Colts.

"Tom has been a friend of mine," Manning told the New York Post. "I don't like to see anyone get suspended. In no way am I glad to see this happen."

However, he also conceded that he would agree with a punishment if the evidence proved that Brady was breaking the rules.

"If someone's breaking the rules I understand you're gonna get punished for it," he added.

Manning famously beat Brady and the Patriots in two Super Bowls in the 2007 and 2011 seasons.