Well, at least that's settled.

Both Tom Brady’s father and his agent agree that the 243-page of NFL-appointed investigator and prominent criminal attorney Ted Wells' report implicating "Tom Terrific" in Deflategate is not only wrong but a "terrible disappointment."

Case closed.

Move on.

Although . . . it is true that:

· The New England Patriots, for whom Brady toils, are proven cheaters, starting all the way back in 1982 when a stadium snowplow operator plowed off a spot in the Foxborough field so that Patriots’ kicker Josh Smith could kick the winning field goal against the Miami Dolphins; an event fabled Miami Coach Don Shula labeled, “the most unfair act” in the history of the league.

· Bill Belichick, Brady’s longtime coach, is an acknowledged cheater, most famously for illegally videotaping the New York Jets’ play-call signals in 2007.

· And Brady, himself, it’s entirely likely, is also a cheater for winking and nodding as his half-witless Patriot associates deflated footballs, in violation of league rules but more to Brady’s liking.

The real villain behind this motley record of sports scamming may be the Patriots’ top man, Robert Kraft. Over the years, as they continued to produce for him on the field, the team’s owner has steadfastly defended his loathsome coach and golden boy quarterback; even continuing to question Brady’s guilt in the light of Wells’ well-researched report.

“To say we are disappointed in its findings, which do not include any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs at the AFC Championship Game, would be a gross understatement,” Kraft pfumphered immediately after the league dropped its Brady bombshell.

Then, sheepishly, exhibiting the kind of dodge that would make a caught politician envious, Kraft acknowledged, “Fighting the league and extending this debate would prove to be futile” so 
 “We will accept the findings of the report and take the appropriate actions based on those findings as well as any discipline levied by the league."

So now, once again, the deflated ball is back in the court of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, just now starting to put the NFL’s domestic abuse problem behind him.

Here’s what the commissioner might consider – in addition to strengthening the rules regarding inflating footballs -- to bolster the reputation of the league this time around.

1. Fine the Patriots $5 million, the largest fine in the history of the league for the team’s knowingly violating league rules in deflating the balls -- and also, at least inferentially, for brazenly cheating the system over the years.

2. Suspend the two knuckleheaded equipment managers involved for half the season or the first eight games.

3. Suspend Tom Brady the same amount – eight games – to indicate that while what he did wasn’t equivalent to the full-year suspensions of drug abusers, it was serious enough to tarnish the “integrity of the game.”

Wouldn't this be a show-stopper for Commissioner Goodell's upcoming speech before PR Seminar at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs? Let’s see if in the aftermath of the embarrassing Deflategate report, the commissioner has the, uh, guts.

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Fraser P. Seitel has been a communications consultant, author and teacher for 40 years. He may be reached directly at [email protected].