As Expected, Everyone - NFL Owners Included - Thinks Deflategate Was a "Make-up Call" for Spygate

In a shrewd move, perhaps to show that they’re not as cozy with the NFL as everyone thinks, ESPN dropped a lengthy piece about Roger Goodell’s relationship with the Patriots dating back to 2007, when Spygate happened. The timing of the story is what’s shrewd: It came 30 minutes before ESPN Radio was scheduled to do an interview with Goodell.

The story is extremely long, and for the tl;dr crowd:

For months, everyone has been saying that Goodell was overreaching on Deflategate to make up for his screw ups in other areas, Spygate included. It’s pretty evident, based on ESPN’s reporting – a lot of people quoted in the piece are not named – that’s clearly the case. This tidbit, about the Patriots’ penchant for cheating over a decade ago, was pretty juicy:

The easy joke coming out of this story: Roger Goodell is going to be so angry at this that he’s going to give Monday Night football the worst lineup in the history of the sport next year! (It’s probably true, too.)

As a reminder, Roger Goodell works for the NFL owners. They are his bosses. He just pissed off one of the most popular and longest-tenured bosses in Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots. The two had a cozy relationship before this – that’s office politics 101; find the most powerful person in the room and make them your ally – but that’s fractured now. Anyone with a pulse would agree that’s got to make Goodell nervous.

So far, the only NFL owner that has said a negative word about Goodel since Tom Brady’s suspension was overturned was Atlanta’s Arthur Blank. Who will follow?