It's all about EXPOSURE fellas, IMO. The league went to NE to destroy the tapes and evidence against the Cheats. They had HUGE exposure to lawsuits over this issue.
They went hard (but not fast) against the team and Marcia regarding the deflation of footballs BECAUSE they had very limited exposure. The Cheats still won right? By waiting until AFTER the SB played out, they limited their exposure even more. Betting is a big business afterall.
MT broke the "NFL rules" (code of silence) when he inferred that the Cheats had an advantage with the scrambled headsets. Almost immediately, the league went into damage control and every article included that NE "had issues with their headsets too" and that "the problem was resolved in the 1st quarter". Now they have finished their internal investigation and declared NE free from wrongdoing.
Really? First off, MT said himself that the problem continued for MOST OF THE FIRST HALF. Secondly, He said it's always the case in NE. There is NO evidence that the Pats were experiencing ANY problems w their League provided (cough, cough) headsets BUT we'll just take their word for it because Belicheat said so. WHY? Because this is the proverbial 'can of worms' which could implicate BOTH the Cheats AND the league in a scandal. It would expose the league to litigation from the outside.
Everyone knows the league 'originally' provides the headsets BUT everyone also knows the headsets and equipment are kept onsite w the home team, they are maintained by LOCAL contractors to the league (what, do you think the NFL has guys they fly around to every game to run the equipment?) AND are distributed by THESE league subcontractors.
Further, anyone who knows what a control freak Belicheat and Marcia are would have heard about 'all of their tales of woe' in regards to the problems THEY have had with the headsets and communication through the years...don't 'cha think?
This problem is going away fast...because of EXPOSURE. The Steelers lost the game AND broke an NFL rule by implying that the headset problem was an issue. The NFL mandates that teams and their employees not make statements which could infer wrongdoing by the other team or an impropriety by the league. Why? EXPOSURE
That's why INITIALLY after deflategate and spygate and headsetgate we had a barrage of coaches, former players and present players stating the history they had, the fact that the balls have been tampered with and the "mysterious happenings" which all involved ONLY the Patriots. Then, as if magically, they disappear, the same players 'soften their rhetoric' and it goes away. Funny what a cease and desist order will do when the league finds out their commodity is being risked by these remarks!
This league is being run by lawyers for the 'ultimate benefit' of their owners. Protecting the investment is paramount to any potential scandal.