New England Patriots
NFL team based in Foxborough, Massachusetts
- Entries
- 39
- On the record
- 23
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- Oct 22, 2026
The record
- $250,000Spygate fine on the club in September 2007, plus $500,000 on Bill Belichick
- $1MDeflategate fine in May 2015, with a 2016 first-round and a 2017 fourth-round pick
- 4 gamesTom Brady's suspension, vacated by a district judge and reinstated by the Second Circuit
- $1.1Mfine in June 2020 over the production crew's December 2019 filming, plus a 2021 third-round pick
The National Football League has penalized the New England Patriots three times since 2007 for filming and equipment violations. Spygate came first: on September 13, 2007 Commissioner Roger Goodell fined the club $250,000 and head coach Bill Belichick $500,000 for filming New York Jets coaches' signals, and ordered the club to forfeit its 2008 first-round pick if it reached the playoffs. Goodell later said the league had destroyed six tapes and notes it collected from the team. Senator Arlen Specter questioned that decision and, after meeting former video assistant Matt Walsh in May 2008, called for an impartial investigation. In 2010 a federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of a Jets season-ticket holder's lawsuit over the taping. The third penalty came in June 2020: a $1.1 million fine and a 2021 third-round pick after a team production crew filmed the Cincinnati Bengals' sideline in December 2019.
Deflategate is the case searched most. A league-commissioned investigation by attorney Ted Wells, published on May 6, 2015, found it more probable than not that two team employees let air out of Patriots game balls after the referee had examined them before the AFC Championship Game in January 2015, and that quarterback Tom Brady was at least generally aware. On May 11 the league fined the club $1 million, took its 2016 first-round and 2017 fourth-round picks and suspended Brady for four games. Owner Robert Kraft said on May 19 that the club would not appeal its penalties. Brady's suspension went through arbitration and two federal courts: Goodell upheld it, Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan vacated it in September 2015, the Second Circuit reinstated it on April 25, 2016 and refused a rehearing that July, and Brady then ended his challenge.
The owner and several players have faced criminal charges. Robert Kraft was charged in Florida in February 2019 with two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution; he pleaded not guilty, the trial judge suppressed the police video, an appeals court agreed, and prosecutors dropped the charges in September 2020. Tight end Aaron Hernandez was convicted in 2015 of the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd; after his death in 2017 a judge vacated the conviction, and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reversed that order in 2019, so the conviction stands. Safety Jabrill Peppers in January 2025 and wide receiver Stefon Diggs in May 2026 were each acquitted by juries of assault and strangulation charges. In 2026 the club's companies sued the Town of Foxborough over stadium license charges, and head coach Mike Vrabel was reported fined $250,000, held in abeyance, over his conduct toward game officials.
Questions people ask
What was Spygate and how much were the Patriots fined?
Spygate was the club's filming of New York Jets coaches' signals during the 2007 season opener. On September 13, 2007 the NFL fined the club $250,000 and Bill Belichick $500,000, and ordered the club to forfeit its 2008 first-round pick if it made the playoffs, or its second- and third-round picks if it did not. Goodell found that ownership was unaware of the filming. source
What did the Patriots lose for Deflategate?
The NFL fined the club $1 million and took its first-round pick in the 2016 draft and its fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft. Tom Brady was suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2015 regular season, and two team employees were suspended indefinitely without pay by the club. source
Did Tom Brady win his Deflategate case in court?
Only at first. U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan vacated the four-game suspension in September 2015, but on April 25, 2016 a Second Circuit panel reversed him 2-1 and ordered the commissioner's arbitration award confirmed. Chief Judge Robert Katzmann dissented. source
Why were the Patriots fined in 2020?
A team production crew filmed the field and sideline during a December 8, 2019 Bengals-Browns game. The NFL fined the club $1.1 million, took a 2021 third-round pick and barred its production crews from shooting games in the 2020 season; the team said it would not contest the penalties. source
What happened to Robert Kraft's solicitation charges?
Prosecutors dropped them on September 24, 2020. A Florida appeals court had ruled in August 2020 that police violated Kraft's rights with secretly installed cameras, and without the videos the state attorney said his office could not go forward. Kraft had pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts. source
Was Aaron Hernandez's murder conviction overturned?
It was vacated in May 2017 under the abatement rule after he died while his appeal was pending, but on March 13, 2019 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reversed that order. The court dismissed the appeal as moot and told the trial court to note that the convictions removed his presumption of innocence. source
Which Patriots player was charged in 2026?
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs, charged with felony strangulation and misdemeanor assault and battery. A Massachusetts jury acquitted him of both charges on May 5, 2026, after the Patriots had released him in March. source
Roles and honours on the record
- 2000-2024 NFL club coached by Bill Belichick for 24 seasons, winning six Super Bowl titles source
- 2007 Club sanctioned by the NFL for videotaping opponents' signals (Spygate) source
- 2015 Club sanctioned by the NFL over under-inflated footballs (Deflategate) source
- 2020 Club fined $1.1 million over its production crew's December 2019 filming source
- 2026 Co-plaintiff, with Kraft Group companies, in a suit against the Town of Foxborough over Gillette Stadium license charges source
Every entry, newest first
- Reported
Patriots announced they and Belichick mutually agreed to part ways after 24 seasons. Bill Belichick's Spygate fine: $500K and a first-round pick
- Ruled
NFL fined the Patriots $250,000 and set forfeiture of 2008 draft picks, the Boston Globe reported. Bill Belichick's Spygate fine: $500K and a first-round pick
Stories in this file
The record, entry by entry
Spygate (2007-2010)
- 2007-09-13 Ruled Commissioner Roger Goodell fined the Patriots $250,000 and Bill Belichick $500,000 for filming Jets coaches' signals, and took the club's 2008 first-round pick if it made the playoffs. He called it "a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid longstanding rules" and found that ownership was unaware of the filming. Boston Globe report quoting Goodell's letter
- 2008-02-01 Reported Goodell said the material the league had destroyed in September 2007 was six tapes from the 2006 season and 2007 preseason, and that the tapes were consistent with what the team had told him. ESPN Spygate timeline
- 2008-02-13 Reported Senator Arlen Specter met Goodell for 1 hour and 40 minutes and said afterwards that Goodell had confirmed the club had been taping opponents' signals since 2000, when Belichick took over. ESPN Spygate timeline
- 2008-05-08 Reported Former team video employee Matt Walsh sent the league eight tapes of opponents' coaching signals from six games between 2000 and 2002, involving five opponents. None showed the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI. A league spokesman said they were consistent with what the Patriots had admitted. Associated Press report via NFL.com
- 2008-05-13 Reported After meeting former team video employee Matt Walsh, Goodell said there was no tape of the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI and that he did not envision more penalties. The Patriots said they had been defending themselves against an unsubstantiated report. Boston Globe report
- 2008-05-15 Reported After a meeting of more than two hours with Walsh, Specter said there ought to be an impartial investigation, modeled on George Mitchell's inquiry into steroids in baseball, and that he would ask Congress to act if the league did not follow through. Washington Times report
- 2010-05-19 Ruled The Third Circuit upheld the dismissal of a suit by a Jets season-ticket holder against Belichick, the Patriots and the NFL over the taping, which sought damages for Jets ticket-holders under racketeering and consumer-fraud laws. The court found no legally cognizable injury, while saying it did not condone the conduct of the club and its coach. Third Circuit opinion, Mayer v. Belichick, No. 09-2237
Deflategate (2015-2016)
- 2015-05-06 Official The league published the 243-page report by attorney Ted Wells. It found it more probable than not that two team employees deliberately released air from Patriots game balls after the referee examined them, and that Tom Brady was at least generally aware. It found no evidence of wrongdoing or knowledge by ownership, Belichick or any other coach. NFL.com summary of the Wells report
- 2015-05-11 Ruled The NFL fined the Patriots $1 million and took their 2016 first-round and 2017 fourth-round picks for under-inflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game and failure to cooperate, and suspended Tom Brady for four games. It said the Wells report found no wrongdoing by the coaching staff, ownership or executives. NFL statement on the Patriots' violations
- 2015-05-19 Official Robert Kraft said the club would accept the Deflategate penalties: "We won't appeal." ESPN report
- 2015-07-28 Ruled Goodell upheld Brady's four-game suspension on appeal, citing evidence that Brady had his cellphone destroyed on or about the day he was interviewed by the Wells investigators. NFL.com report
- 2015-09-03 Ruled U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan vacated Brady's suspension, and the league said it would appeal. NFL.com report
- 2016-04-25 Ruled The Second Circuit reversed the district court and ordered the arbitration award confirmed, holding that the commissioner properly used his discretion under the collective bargaining agreement. Chief Judge Robert Katzmann dissented. Second Circuit opinion, NFL Management Council v. NFLPA
- 2016-07-13 Ruled The Second Circuit denied the players' union and Brady a rehearing, by the panel or by the full court, leaving the reinstated suspension in place. The union said it was disappointed. WBUR report
- 2016-07-15 Official Brady ended his legal challenge to the suspension. Kraft called the penalty "unprecedented, unjust and unreasonable" in a statement released by the club. NFL.com report
2019 filming penalty
- 2019-12-09 Admitted The Patriots said their production crew had inappropriately filmed the field and sideline at the Bengals-Browns game in Cleveland the day before, for a web series about an advance scout, and accepted full responsibility. The club said the crew was not part of its football operation. ESPN report
- 2020-06-28 Ruled The NFL fined the Patriots $1.1 million, took a 2021 third-round pick and barred the team's production crews from shooting games in the 2020 season. The club said the crew filmed only to illustrate an advance scout at work and was not part of the football operation. ESPN report
Robert Kraft's Florida case (2019-2020)
- 2019-02-22 Filed Jupiter, Florida police announced that Robert Kraft was charged with two misdemeanor counts of soliciting another to commit prostitution at a local day spa. A spokesman said Kraft categorically denied any illegal activity, and the NFL said it would monitor developments. CBS Sports report
- 2019-03-23 Official In his first statement since the charges, Kraft said he was "truly sorry" and that he had hurt and disappointed his family, friends, co-workers and fans. He had pleaded not guilty. CNBC report
- 2019-05-13 Ruled Palm Beach County Judge Leonard Hanser suppressed the spa video and the evidence from a January traffic stop of Kraft's car, finding that the search warrant lacked required minimization guidelines. CBS Sports report
- 2020-08-19 Ruled Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld the suppression of the hidden-camera videos, finding that police had not sufficiently limited recording of conduct outside the warrant's scope and had violated Fourth Amendment protections. News Service of Florida report via WJCT
- 2020-09-24 Official Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg dropped the charges against Kraft rather than appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. He said he disagreed with the court's decision but respected it. CBS News report
Players charged with crimes
- 2013-07-08 Reported Owner Robert Kraft said the club had decided before Aaron Hernandez's arrest in the killing of Odin Lloyd that it would release the tight end immediately if he was arrested, and that if the allegations were true, "our whole organization has been duped." ESPN report
- 2015-04-15 Ruled A jury in Fall River convicted Hernandez of first-degree murder in Lloyd's 2013 killing and of firearms and ammunition charges. He received the mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. ESPN report
- 2017-04-14 Ruled A jury acquitted former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez of a 2012 double murder in Boston; he was serving life without parole for his conviction in the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd. He was found dead in his prison cell on April 19, 2017. ESPN report
- 2017-05-09 Ruled Superior Court Judge E. Susan Garsh vacated Hernandez's murder conviction, saying she was bound by the Massachusetts rule that a conviction is erased when a defendant dies before his appeal is heard. Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said he would appeal. ESPN report
- 2019-03-13 Ruled The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reversed the order vacating Hernandez's convictions and abandoned the abatement rule. It dismissed his appeal as moot and directed the trial court to note that the convictions removed his presumption of innocence but were neither affirmed nor reversed because he died while the appeal was pending. SJC opinion, Commonwealth v. Hernandez, SJC-12501
- 2024-10-09 Filed The NFL placed safety Jabrill Peppers on the Commissioner Exempt List after his arrest over an incident in Braintree. He was charged with assault and battery on an intimate partner, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation and possession of cocaine, and pleaded not guilty. CBS News Boston report
- 2024-11-25 Official The NFL removed Peppers from the exempt list after seven missed games, clearing him to practice and play. The Patriots said the league's investigation would continue. CBS News Boston report
- 2025-01-24 Ruled A Quincy District Court jury acquitted Peppers of the assault and strangulation charges. He admitted to cocaine possession, and the judge continued that charge for four months without a finding. CBS News Boston report
- 2026-02-13 Filed Wide receiver Stefon Diggs pleaded not guilty in Dedham District Court to felony strangulation and misdemeanor assault and battery over a December 2 incident involving his personal chef. His lawyer said he was "completely innocent of these false allegations." CBS News Boston report
- 2026-05-04 Reported A jury was seated for Diggs's trial in Dedham. The Patriots had released him in March. Associated Press report via Courthouse News Service
- 2026-05-05 Ruled The jury acquitted Diggs of both the strangulation and the assault and battery charges. NBC News report
Coaches, owner and stadium (2024-2026)
- 2024-01-11 Official The Patriots and Bill Belichick announced they had mutually agreed to part ways after 24 seasons and six Super Bowl titles. New England Patriots announcement
- 2026-06-15 Filed Kraft Sports and Entertainment, New England Patriots LLC and two other Gillette Stadium operators sued the Town of Foxborough in Norfolk Superior Court over an April invoice of more than $950,000 tied to renewing the stadium's entertainment license, arguing the town may charge no more than $100 a year. CBS News Boston report
- 2026-07-07 Filed Foxborough answered with a counterclaim and asked the court to dismiss the suit, saying the companies are contractually bound under the stadium lease to pay public-safety costs of events. The case is pending. Boston.com report
- 2026-10-22 Reported Sports Illustrated reported that the league fined head coach Mike Vrabel $250,000 over his conduct toward game officials, held in abeyance and open to being rescinded with good behavior. The coaches of the Eagles and Jets received the same fine; the league has not commented. CBS Sports report citing Sports Illustrated
Documents
- NFL statement on the Patriots' Deflategate violations (May 11, 2015)
- Second Circuit opinion, NFL Management Council v. NFL Players Association, Nos. 15-2801, 15-2805 (Apr. 25, 2016)
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court opinion, Commonwealth v. Hernandez, SJC-12501 (Mar. 13, 2019), slip opinion copy
- Third Circuit opinion, Mayer v. Belichick, No. 09-2237 (May 19, 2010)
- Patriots announcement that the club and Bill Belichick are parting ways (Jan. 11, 2024)
- NFL.com summary of the Wells report findings (May 6, 2015)
- NFL.com on Goodell upholding Brady's suspension (July 28, 2015)
- NFL.com on Judge Berman vacating Brady's suspension (Sept. 3, 2015)
- Boston Globe on the 2007 Spygate penalties
- AP via NFL.com on the eight tapes Matt Walsh sent the league (May 2008)
- ESPN on the 2020 videotaping penalty
- WJCT on the Florida appeals court ruling in the Kraft case (Aug. 19, 2020)
- CBS News on prosecutors dropping the charges against Robert Kraft (Sept. 24, 2020)