I don't get the argument that although Goodell lost Kraft, he has won over all the other owners

That has been the prevailing storyline in the media now. They are spinning this into a big win for Goodell because coming down hard on the Patriots have won over all these other clubs. I find that a silly argument. Here is why:

• Kraft is one of the two or three most powerful owners in the league. Even if Goodell won over the Shad Khans of the world, winning support for powerless owners doesn't offset losing one of the major power brokers in the league.
• I am sure there are a lot of owners saying to themselves "If Goodell can do this to his buddy, what will happen if he sets his sights on me?". I think that many owners are quietly saying to themselves that Goodell is too power-hungry, inflexible, and cannot see how to see nuances of the situation. I think even the owners who hate the Pats and enjoy this will see how Goodell screwed up this situation and could do the same to them.
• Goodell has lost Kraft forever. How long will the owners who were won over by this punishment be happy with Goodell? A week? A month? A year? Goodell has another Ray Rice type scandal, these owners are not going to say "Yeah, but he got the Deflategate thing right". Any owner he won over for this whole thing will only be won over if he builds on it.
• What happens if and when Brady takes this to court, wins a chance to get a truly independent arbitrator, and get the suspension overturn while the Patriots file a grievance and wins? Will these owners still be enamored with Goodell? We know Kraft will still hate Goodell.

Rob0729 said:

That has been the prevailing storyline in the media now. They are spinning this into a big win for Goodell because coming down hard on the Patriots have won over all these other clubs. I find that a silly argument. Here is why:

• Kraft is one of the two or three most powerful owners in the league. Even if Goodell won over the Shad Khans of the world, winning support for powerless owners doesn't offset losing one of the major power brokers in the league.
• I am sure there are a lot of owners saying to themselves "If Goodell can do this to his buddy, what will happen if he sets his sights on me?". I think that many owners are quietly saying to themselves that Goodell is too power-hungry, inflexible, and cannot see how to see nuances of the situation. I think even the owners who hate the Pats and enjoy this will see how Goodell screwed up this situation and could do the same to them.
• Goodell has lost Kraft forever. How long will the owners who were won over by this punishment be happy with Goodell? A week? A month? A year? Goodell has another Ray Rice type scandal, these owners are not going to say "Yeah, but he got the Deflategate thing right". Any owner he won over for this whole thing will only be won over if he builds on it.
• What happens if and when Brady takes this to court, wins a chance to get a truly independent arbitrator, and get the suspension overturn while the Patriots file a grievance and wins? Will these owners still be enamored with Goodell? We know Kraft will still hate Goodell.

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If goodell does not back down and kraft is forced to try and find relief through the courts he will resign from all committees, including the one that negotiates the tv contract. As the driving force behind the last deal which has made the owners a ton of money they could lose a ton of money with kraft no-longer there. The same goes for the cba, kraft is credited for saving football from labor strife and hammering out a deal with the union. With him no-longer on that committee there will probably be a work stoppage ala 1982 and '87, which would be disasterous for the league and the owners.

reflexblue said:

If goodell does not back down and kraft is forced to try and find relief through the courts he will resign from all committees, including the one that negotiates the tv contract. As the driving force behind the last deal which has made the owners a ton of money they could lose a ton of money with kraft no-longer there. The same goes for the cba, kraft is credited for saving football from labor strife and hammering out a deal with the union. With him no-longer on that committee there will probably be a work stoppage ala 1982 and '87, which would be disasterous for the league and the owners.

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The big help from Kraft last time was in his fashioning a deal between the small markets and big markets.

This may change the face of football forever if the salary cap is altered.

And to think, Kraft left his wife's deathbed for that.

Kraft joins the NFLPA 2017 begins the uncapped NFL, the patriots win the next 12 superbowls.

chasa said:

Kraft joins the NFLPA 2017 begins the uncapped NFL, the patriots win the next 12 superbowls.

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Kraft has stated in the past that he wouldn't invest in the extremely lucrative English Premier League because there is no salary cap, it's something he feels strongly about

I don't get that douchebag breer saying how jerry jones saying what he did is big for goodell.

Guess he forgot Jones' best defensive player has an appeal pending.

The thing is Kraft is an owner.. he is not young anymore.. I am not sure he can sustain his rage, and could be influenced by other owners... (let's face it.. they are all friends)

I'll say this much. If Goodell really did violate the CBA and loses a court case on those grounds, giving a lot of ammunition to the union in the next CBA the owners will turn on him pretty quickly.

I'm with you Rob0729, I think the narrative that the other owners are lined up with Goodell and against Kraft is non-credible. As the other posters in this thread have pointed out, Kraft has stepped up to the plate on behalf of the other owners in numerous ways over his 20+ years. Does it give him leverage, who knows, especially with the newer owners, but what it gives him is a position to create havoc. A guy who was the chairman of the owner's finance committee for many years is in a position to know some pretty important things. Even the owners who may truly resent Kraft (and I really doubt that list goes much beyond Irsay and Johnson) are capable of calculating the value of mollifying him versus the potential cost of having him really go off.

SunshineSammy said:

The thing is Kraft is an owner.. he is not young anymore.. I am not sure he can sustain his rage, and could be influenced by other owners... (let's face it.. they are all friends)

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Pretty sure Jonathan is pissed too.

It is the same sort of free-form unsubstantiated opinionated thinking that we have seen from the beginning of this debacle.

Falcons' Blank says failure to admit mistakes hurt Patriots

Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Thursday there is a "general feeling" that the Patriots' failure to acknowledge mistakes added to the punishment they received for deflating footballs.

Blank stressed while at a community improvement event that he has no direct knowledge of the Patriots' case.

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2015/05/14/3746403/falcons-blank-says-failure-to.html#storylink=cpy

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The owners, like the league itself, easily become insulated by their wealth and the power that accompanies it. They are living in some sort of fantasy world:

"I think after things are processed, Robert will be in a good place, I think the commissioner will be in a good place, I think their relationship will be a good one and they will continue to work for the benefit of the National Football League for a long time."

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2015/05/14/3746403/falcons-blank-says-failure-to.html#storylink=cpy

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"I think their relationship will be in a good place."

Yeah. Right. Because what successful billionaire /doesn't/ enjoy being screwed over repeatedly.

SunshineSammy said:

The thing is Kraft is an owner.. he is not young anymore.. I am not sure he can sustain his rage, and could be influenced by other owners... (let's face it.. they are all friends)

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That's my biggest concern... is that Kraft will be talked out of suing the League

"I think after things are processed, Robert will be in a good place, I think the commissioner will be in a good place, I think their relationship will be a good one and they will continue to work for the benefit of the National Football League for a long time."

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2015/05/14/3746403/falcons-blank-says-failure-to.html#storylink=cpy

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What a ****ing joke!

Arthur Blank is f*cking moron. When you don't think you're guilty why the hell would you admit to anything? Then you get a report that from the beginning was slanted to go against you, not to mention someone fro the NFL lies to you about what the psi measurements for the balls. You just don't sit there and take this kind of over punishment.

Seems like Blank is scared the Kraft will decide he has had enough of putting league first and looks like a fool for being really the only owner to seriously back Goodell over his incompetency over the Rice stuff.

Chiuba E. Obele said:

That's my biggest concern... is that Kraft will be talked out of suing the League

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If Kraft is seriously looking to sue the league only way he gets talked out is when he has 23 other owners votes of no confidence for Goodell.

Kraft could pull the pin on the hand grenade at the owner's meeting by announcing three actions:

1) Filing a lawsuit against the NFL

2) Announcing that he has put the team up for sale

3) Informing the owners that the New England Patriots will forfeit every game until a buyer is found, the League has approved the sale, and the transaction has been completed.

hwc said:

Kraft could pull the pin on the hand grenade at the owner's meeting by announcing three actions:

1) Filing a lawsuit against the NFL

2) Announcing that he has put the team up for sale

3) Informing the owners that the New England Patriots will forfeit every game until a buyer is found, the League has approved the sale, and the transaction has been completed.

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Except he loses and the League wins. Kraft doesn't want to sell the team. And you know any new owner will likely have to make a backdoor deal to get rid of Belichick.

The owners aren't going to say anything publicly. You think they want to be the next witch hunt targets?

Not entirely apropos.

Somebody should ask Jim Irsay if he appreciated having had the benefit of the doubt that "he's just a generous kind of guy" when it came to his explaining why he had 29,000 dollars in cash on him the night he was arrested.