During the New England Patriots' dynastic run in early 2000s, the NFL conducted two aggressive and, some could argue, overreaching investigations into the franchise — “Spygate” in 2007 and “Deflategate” in 2015.
They resulted in cumulative penalties that included the stripping of two first-round draft picks, one fourth-round pick, $1.25 million in fines for the franchise, a $500,000 fine to head coach Bill Belichick and a four-game suspension for star quarterback Tom Brady.
That doesn’t count the extensive legal fees required to defend themselves, including battles that went into federal court, let alone the non-monetary damage of tarnished reputations (deserved or not).