New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft isn't the only person with a vested interest in the success of the franchise who feels like the Wells Report findings were based on purely circumstantial evidence and thus that the punishment handed down by the league "far exceeded any reasonable expectation."
Of course, for fans of the Pats, perturbed by the DeflateGate scandal and the suspension handed to Golden Boy/Gisele Bundchen's husband quarterback Tom Brady, along with the loss of a first-round draft pick and a $1 million fine, their response has been just as vehement, if not quite as eloquent.
"We obviously know we won't reach One Million Dollars, however we do believe the fine is bulls**t and want to help anyway we can," reads a GoFundMe page called "Paying the bill of the PATRIOTS," which was started by Pats fans in the wake of the sanctions.
It's admirable, in a way, that New England fans who clearly hold their team in such high regard, would be willing to commit more dollars, beyond the dollars they already spend on tickets, concessions, parking and memorabilia, to the Patriots cause, but it's also imbecilic.
A quick Google search reveals that Kraft, the Chairman & CEO of The Kraft Group, has a net worth of approximately $4.3 billion, which means, that good-natured Patriots fans intentions aside, Kraft really does not need any help whatsoever in paying the $1 million fine.
In fact, the fine is far and away the least important and most symbolic of the punishments meted out by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
$1 million is a drop in the bucket for Kraft - the loss of his future Hall of Fame quarterback for four games - or, post-appeal, most likely two and perhaps three - and a first-round pick, are much, much more painful.
Of course, there's not really any help the Patriots faithful can offer when it comes to those aspects of the DeflateGate fallout for New England, so a symbolic gesture aimed at aiding Kraft and the franchise in paying the fine, is probably about as much as they can provide.
