National Football League

VOTE: If NFL finds Pats cheated, what should their punishment be?

Published Jan. 22, 2015 1:18 a.m. ET

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If the NFL finds anyone with the New England Patriots underinflated the footballs for last Sunday's AFC championship game, Commissioner Roger Goodell has wide latitude for punishment.

This includes a fine that can be as low as $25,000 for anyone deemed responsible for tampering with a football, even if it's the head coach. Goodell could strip the team of draft picks, suspend people for ''unfair acts,'' and reverse a game's result or reschedule a game.

Goodell fined New England coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the Patriots $250,000 along with stripping the team of a first-round draft pick in 2007 for having an assistant spy on the New York Jets' defensive signals by using a sideline camera.

One bookmaker, Bovada.lv, posted odds of 3-2 that Belichick could be suspended at least one game, and 15-2 that he could be suspended for the Super Bowl.

What do you think the Pats' punishment should be if they cheated? Vote in the poll below and tell us in the comments.