Robert Kraft: Competitors 'brought pressure' on NFL to punish Patriots

The Patriots owner insists that jealousy from other franchises was behind Deflategate

The New England Patriots' destruction of the NFL in 2016 was something else to behold. Tom Brady was suspended four games to start the year over the Deflategate saga and despite that, the Pats won 14 games (all but one while he was playing), secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC and eventually won the Super Bowl after storming back from a 25-point deficit against the Falcons.

There was much discussion afterward about how the Pats believed they were shorted by the league. That chatter continued this week, with owner Robert Kraft saying at a Bloomberg Breakaway on Tuesday night that he believes other NFL owners lobbied the league to punish his franchise aggressively.

"Well, I don't hold grudges, but I also don't forget anything," Kraft said, via ESPN. "Envy and jealousy are incurable diseases. I'm going into my 24th season as an owner. I'm passionate about owning a football team in my hometown.

"If I hadn't won, I would be so angry at our folks and thinking about what we'd have to do [to win a title]. So, our competitors, I understand how they brought pressure on the league office to be very strong and [lobbied] not to compromise on an issue that was nonsense and foolishness."

If those quotes sound familiar, they should. Kraft previously used one of the phrases in there to a letter, telling Andrea Kremer on HBO's "Real Sports" that "envy and jealousy are incurable diseases." (It's just a classed-up way of saying "Hate us 'cuz they ain't us.")

So that's not surprising that he feels that way. We already knew he did. What's interesting is Kraft's outright, public claim that other NFL teams -- the only way to read the word "competitors" -- lobbied and "brought pressure" on the NFL office to pursue punishment against the Patriots.

There is no concrete evidence of that, but it would hardly be surprising. The Patriots sit on the throne, having won five Super Bowls in the past 16 seasons -- and playing in two others -- and are the crown jewel of the NFL. 

Tom Brady might be third in merchandise sales, but he is very much first in Super Bowl rings. 

Which makes you wonder, are the Pats in a bunker with each other now? They just won the "sweetest" title of the Robert Kraft/Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era, but they have spent this offseason continuing to build up the roster for another title run. They're even keeping Jimmy Garoppolo around for Brady insurance; they're refusing to trade their backup quarterback. 

A lot of times after a team wins a title they are forced to reckon with the roster realignment that comes along with a championship. The Patriots don't appear to be subject to such forces. Instead, they might simply be more motivated than ever to teach their competitors a lesson.