There's been a lot of talk about deflation in the news lately.
The Super Bowl champion New England Patriots have been accused of spending lots of time and effort managing deflation of game balls in hopes of big returns on the scoreboard.
At the same time, Fed economists spend lots of time and effort monitoring signs of deflation (as well as inflation) in the economy as they decide when to hike interest rates for the first time in nine years.
Read More NFL report: Tom Brady knew about deflated balls
These are two very different types of deflation. In the case of the Patriots, it's fairly easy to explain. Superstar quarterback Tom Brady allegedly likes the grip of a football with less air in it. The quarterback has been accused of asking team equipment personnel to deflate game balls he uses below the minimum air pressure standards required by the NFL. Pretty straight forward.
Trying to explain the type of deflation that economists are keeping score of is quite a different challenge. And who better to deliver the information than Tom Brady himself? Well, OK, not that Tom Brady, but another guy named Tom Brady.
Brady is a professor of biomedical sciences at Quinnipiac University.