Hurley: Kraft Accepts Defeat After Four-Month War With Goodell
BOSTON (CBS) -- For months, nobody on either side of the ongoing battle between the NFL and the New England Patriots was willing to give an inch. Instead, the two sides laid down gauntlet after gauntlet, challenging the other side to blink while the whole world watched.
But on Tuesday, Robert Kraft finally blinked.
The Patriots owner swallowed his pride, strode the podium, patted Patriots fans on their head for their undying support, and then broke the cycle.
He said, "Uncle."
"You know, it's been an emotionally charged couple of weeks, as you all know, and I've been considering what my options are," Kraft said, minutes before finally getting to his decision. "I don't want to continue the rhetoric that's gone on for the last four months. I'm going to accept, reluctantly, what [Roger Goodell] has given to us, and not continue this dialogue and rhetoric. And we won't appeal."
With that statement, Kraft backed down, accepting the fact that weight of 31 other clubs and the commissioner can win just about any war waged by just one team. And it ended a four-month period where the two sides essentially did nothing except exchange haymakers.
A brief history:
Jan. 19: After news of the underinflated footballs leaked to the media, NFL spokesman Michael Signora confirmed that the Patriots were officially under investigation.
Jan. 21: Multiple NFL sources leak to ESPN's Chris Mortensen that 11 of 12 of the Patriots' footballs were a full 2 PSI under the allowable limit. Despite this information being false, the NFL does nothing to correct the public record. "DeflateGate" officially begins.
Jan. 24: After holding "I Know Nothing" press conferences earlier in the week, Bill Belichick hits the podium unannounced before the Patriots fly to Phoenix and he counters the accusations with calls to scientific explanations and a Joe Pesci movie. It served as a strong denial of any wrongdoing.
Jan. 26: Robert Kraft follows Belichick's lead by taking the podium unannounced upon the team's arrival in Arizona and boldly proclaims that he expects an apology from the NFL to Belichick and Tom Brady after the investigation comes up empty.
February-May: A number of NFL sources continue to leak information, keeping "DeflateGate" in the news for months while Ted Wells' team carried out its multi-million dollar investigation into slightly underinflated footballs.
March 24: Kraft tells reporters that he knows "there is no smoking gun."
May 6: NFL releases Wells report, which concludes that two Patriots employees engaged in inappropriate conduct regarding the footballs, and that Tom Brady was "at least generally aware" of those activities.
May 6: Robert Kraft releases a statement which discredits the findings of the Wells report. Kraft does say he will accept whatever punishment the league decides, but notes "the time, effort and resources expended to reach this conclusion are incomprehensible to me."
May 7: Brady's agent, Don Yee, rips the report to shreds. In doing so, he calls into question the league's integrity and Wells' impartiality.
May 11: The NFL announces historic punishment: A $1 million fine, forfeiture of a first-round draft pick and a fourth-round pick, and a four-game suspension for quarterback Tom Brady.
May 11: Kraft announces that the punishment "far exceeded any reasonable expectation." Yee doubles down on his attacks on Wells, calling the findings "predetermined."
May 12: Wells fires back during an emotional conference call, saying the Patriots are guilty -- "I believe that to the bottom of my heart."
May 14: Patriots release 20,000-word rebuttal of Wells report. The showdown between Kraft and Goodell reaches its apex.
May 14: Tom Brady officially appeals his suspension. Roger Goodell responds by appointing himself to hear the appeal. The NFLPA writes a letter to Troy Vincent saying not only is he not allowed to impose player punishment, he's actually not even qualified. Fists are flying.
Punch after punch after punch, blow after blow after blow, knockout attempt after knockout attempt after knockout attempt.
And then ... a white flag. Submission.
Kraft's statement on Tuesday most certainly represented a sharp change in course, one that came after some heart-to-hearts with Goodell. The total change in tenor and attitude inspired most everyone to search for a reason for the kowtow.
The most prevalent theory was pretty straightforward: Kraft agreed to accept the team punishments in exchange for Goodell dropping the four-game suspension to Brady (or at least, assigning an independent arbitrator for Brady's hearing who will most likely rule in Brady's favor and therefore save the league and the star quarterback from dragging the case through the court system).
One NFL source quickly refuted that notion, but that does not mean it's not true. NFL sources have not been particularly forthcoming or accurate on this matter since it began.
And if that were to be the case, if Kraft made a back-channel deal to relinquish a first-round pick in exchange for getting his quarterback on the field for four games, is that not a wildly lopsided exchange? A first-round pick, at least in theory, provides the Patriots with four years of a very good player's services. That should outweigh four games from a quarterback, even if he is a great quarterback, shouldn't it?
Perhaps Tom Brady really does not want to take the league to court. The man's got better things to do in his life than walk through a crowd of reporters and photographers every day to hear lawyers duke it out and spar over the nitpickiest of details from the CBA, Wells report and the like. And certainly, the league would not stand to benefit to have the most prominent player taking them to court. The optics of that wouldn't sit well with a league that is primarily concerned with PR above all else.
Another possibility is a much less dramatic one. Perhaps the Patriots simply had no other course of action. For as much as Kraft believes in his team's innocence, the fact is that the other 31 teams don't -- or at least, they don't believe in it enough to get into a war with the commissioner. It is a rather swell time to own an NFL team, as the money flows at an impossible rate, ratings climb, and the league truly is king of all American sports. Is this an unjust situation? Sure. But why rock the boat if you're one of the other 31 owners? Why not make the safe decision, stick with the majority, and tell Kraft, "Sorry, but we're not sorry"?
It is likely that Kraft found himself on an island, and as he acknowledged in that first post-Wells report statement, he recognized that he is just one of 32 and therefore had no leverage.
Whatever the case may be, the fact is that the war -- as it relates to the Patriots vs. Goodell -- is over. Goodell won, and Kraft accepted defeat. The owner chose to not even answer any questions after making his statement, instead retreating behind the curtain covered by the NFL backdrop, which featured gold shields in honor of Super Bowl 50. After Kraft spent four months fighting that very shield, it was still there to protect him.
But the Brady fight lives on. Whether that takes a dramatic turn in the quarterback's favor after this Kraft statement remains to be seen, but if the quarterback does get that suspension eliminated, then it's fair to ask: For what, exactly, are the Patriots being punished?
It's a question that's been asked for four months. And it probably won't ever be answered.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here. You can email him or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.