Patriots owner Robert Kraft folds, won't fight Deflategate punishment
"I'm going to accept reluctantly what he has given to us," he said at a press conference at the NFL owners' meetings. "We won't appeal."
Kraft had been adamant that his team did nothing wrong. When the Wells report was first released, he put out a defiant statement challenging the report's conclusions.
When the NFL announced its penalties against the team a week later - a $1 million fine and the loss of a 1st- and 4th-round pick - Kraft said the punishment "far exceeded any reasonable expectation."
Given those statements, as well as the fact that the team created a 20,000-word denial website to combat the Wells report's conclusions, many thought Kraft was gearing up for a legal fight. At his press conference on Tuesday, he maintained that his team was innocent, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth fighting anymore.
"I can try to end it or extend it, and I have given a lot of thought to both options," he said before announcing he would end it.
"At no time should the agenda of one team outweigh the collective good of the full 32."
It's a major victory for Roger Goodell, who has used the Deflategate scandal to re-establish a power base among NFL owners.
Kraft's decision doesn't affect Tom Brady, who is still appealing his four-game suspension through the NFLPA.