BOCA RATON, Fla. — New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said Monday he wrote to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell over a month ago asking to have the team’s first-round pick in next month’s draft reinstated.
The NFL stripped the Patriots of their first-round choice as part of the Deflategate penalties imposed on the franchise last year.
Kraft would not comment on what reply, if any, he received from Goodell.
Kraft suggested that his letter also sought to have the league’s four-game Deflategate suspension of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady rescinded. The NFL has appealed a federal judge’s ruling last year that overturned Brady’s suspension. The league and the NFL Players Association are awaiting a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on the NFL’s appeal.
Speaking to reporters during a break at the annual league meeting, Kraft said he believes Goodell has done “a very good job” as commissioner, other than Deflategate.
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