And the New England Patriots owner – whose relationship with the NFL Commissioner was strained by the Deflategate investigation and punishment – envisions the ideal scenario.
“A lot of our fans have asked me about Roger coming back to our stadium,” Kraft told USA TODAY Sports. “If we win Sunday, I think people would like to see him in Foxborough.
“If we win on Sunday, I’m inviting him formally to come to our opener next season.”
Goodell hasn’t attended a Patriots game at Gillette Stadium since January 2015 when New England defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game that sparked the Deflategate saga that resulted in unprecedented penalties against Kraft’s franchise and the four-game suspension that star quarterback Tom Bradyserved at the start of this season.
After the Patriots won Super Bowl XLIX, they hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL’s showcase Thursday night opener to christen the next season by raising their latest championship banner.
That Goodell missed that event infuriated the Patriots’ fan base, which widely interpreted the commissioner’s absence as a snub – less than a week after a federal judge issued a stay that allowed Brady to continuing playing during the 2015 season amid a lengthy court battle.
Brady ultimately lost in court, and the bad blood remains.
“I really believe the league messed it up badly,” said Kraft, alluding to $1 million fine and the loss of first- and fourth-round draft picks on top of Brady’s suspension.
The NFL contended that the Patriots deflated footballs for that AFC Championship Game and a lengthy investigation headed by Ted Wells concluded that it was more likely than not that Brady had knowledge of a scheme for doctoring the footballs that was allegedly carried out by an assistant equipment manager and a game-day locker room attendant.
Although the NFL maintains that the Patriots’ heavy punishment was based on factors that included Brady obstructing the investigation by destroying a cellphone that may have contained evidence and the franchise’s violations from a videotaping scandal in 2007 known as “Spygate,” Kraft contends that the matter was at least partially motivated by competitors urging the league to come down hard on the most successful franchise of this era.