Maybe it isn't always about how do we win this thing? Maybe he should have just filed an appeal to the league and potentially sued the league, merely because it's about public opinion, and fighting tooth and nail, shedding more light on the injustice, just looks better than rolling over. He didn't even appeal the decision...didn't even appeal it! He would not even be able to sue the league because he opted not to even appeal the decision.
Many said that Brady was also crazy to appeal this decision, or at the very least, that he has very little chance to win.
Had Kraft appealed and then sued the league, even had the suit been thrown out, it would have continued to be a big deal, that an owner was willing to go to court against his business partners with scientific experts backing that his team was unjustly punished and that he was personally fined $1M.
AT THE VERY LEAST, he should have done what any owner with balls would have done, which is threaten to sue, threaten to do everything imaginable to make their lives difficult, unless the league was willing to at least agree to reconsider the penalty after the PSI recordings came back from this year...it could have been done privately. He clearly didn't consider this option either.
I don't think that most people realize just how F'd up this entire ordeal was. We are talking about one of the largest fines and penalties in sports history over a rules violation that did not exist, with data that did not exist, with a consequence that did not exist, based on purposely flawed science. Maybe Kraft could not have won had he sued the league; I'm willing to bet there are some judges out there who would be willing to give serious consideration to vacating the penalties based on fundamental unfairness. And yes, I realize he is part of the league, but Al Davis sued the NFL and won. It is possible.
Thank about it like this: what if Roger Goodell told Kraft he was fined $500M because his players were tying their shoes the wrong way? Absurd? Do you think he would sue in that case? Do you think he would go to court and refuse to pay the money, which is a huge chunk of his fortune? Of course he would, because the NFL cannot just make up violations and fine him...yes, my example is extreme, but at some point, it illustrates there is a line and a principle.