Patriots’ Spygate History Will Be ‘A Factor’ In NFL Investigation, Roger Goodell Says

Roger Goodell offered brief updates on two New England Patriots-related matters Wednesday at the NFL’s Winter League Meeting.

In a news conference, the NFL commissioner said the incident involving a member of the Patriots’ production team illegally videotaping the Cincinnati Bengals sideline this past Sunday is “under review.”

The Patriots released a statement admitting a cameraman recorded footage of Cincinnati’s sideline but said the individual was unaware that doing so violated league rules. Goodell said the Patriots’ history (i.e. Spygate, Deflategate) will be “a factor” in the NFL’s investigation.

The NFL fined the Patriots $250,000 and head coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and docked the team a first-round draft pick after they were caught illegally filming the New York Jets’ sideline in 2007.

“Of course, that is a factor,” Goodell said. “But I think the key things are the new information that we have — that information we obviously already had. I think the issue is what information do we have from this incident.”

Belichick said Tuesday the Patriots have taken special care since Spygate not to violate or even approach the boundaries of NFL restrictions on filming. He’s stated multiple times this week that the person operating the camera in the Cleveland Browns’ press box was not associated with New England’s football staff.

Goodell also said the league’s investigation into allegations against former Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown still is ongoing.

“They still have not completed the investigation,” Goodell said. “The investigators did; I did not meet with Antonio. But they have more work to do. They are following up on that. I will get an update when they have more information.”

Brown spent 11 days with the Patriots in September, appearing in one game for the team.