It did - at least as it now stands in terms of losing that 1st round draft pick. It also cements perceptions of the Pats guilt, though even without the "admission" of Kraft by giving up the pick, you'll never convince anyone who is so jealous and illogical to reject 7th grade science exoneration in the first place.
That being said I take Kraft at his word as to what his motivation was - and the evidence as I see it indicates he was sincere in thinking he was trying to help the club.
Rightfully or wrongly Kraft recognized what was behind FrameGate. Jealous owners who viewed the Patriots as continually blocking their chances in the playoffs and Super Bowl. Every AFC team must HATE the Patriots for "clogging" the road to the Super Bowl with 10 AFC Championship games in 14 years. And it's not just "jealousy" - success makes NFL owners even more wealthy and more importantly it feeds their egos.
"Parity" in the NFL actually means that all team owners feel like they deserve a turn in the spotlight at the Super Bowl. Brady has upset the notion of "parity" like no other player - and even with what was consistently a late 1st round pick the Patriots couldn't be stoppped.
So even though most if not all owners HAVE to know this was a set up, even if they weren't directly behind it, they all wanted a pound of flesh from the Patriots if they could get it.
It's not unreasonable to think that Kraft felt he could end this saga for the good of the team, the fans and the NFL by simply saying "ok, we'll go without the 32nd pick
" knowing that all that was really essential was to keep Brady on the field.
He underestimated the fact that the owners pulling Goodell's strings ALSO recognized that nothing short of keeping Brady off the field would stop them from another deep playoff run.
Thus FrameGate didn't end even after Kraft tried to appease the jealous owners by giving up a 1st.
It really just goes to show how corrupt the NFL is and although I hate to say it, when an organization is as corrupt as this one is, you really have to look at pulling their anti-trust exemption.
That doesn't change anything overnight, but it does put the owners on notice that the government is aware of the corruption and isn't going to enable it to continue in a beloved American sport.
I think it's really saying something when you have a guy like me, who was almost 100% in the owners corner on the last CBA, now not only pro-player, but one who would be open to the notion of the NFLPA quitting the NFL entirely and starting their own league, mirroring the current team lineups of course.
(yeah, I know that's not going to happen - but I'm just saying I'd welcome ANYONE other than the current NFL leadership and ownership running a sport that I love)