Most fans and pundits are sick of haggling over deflated balls, but Pro Football Talk is reporting that a group old-school owners around the league want Roger Goodell and the NFL to stick it to Tom Brady.
Fueling the league’s position is a group of hard-core, old-school owners who strongly desire to retain full power over the workforce. The 2011 lockout was about money. The current fight is about control, and the owners who are pushing the league office to hold firm want a victory not because it hurts Brady and the Patriots specifically but because it generally keeps the players from chipping away at management’s authority over the sport.
That group of owners, which would likely include Jerry Jones, seems fed up with the growing chorus that the league and commissioners office may be losing some authority with the players and that can’t happen.
A settlement is unlikely with Brady only wanting to pay a fine. Something will need to give immediately, or DeflateGate could end up hovering over the entire regular season as well.
By Glenn Erby
