A group of New England Patriots fans are suing the NFL, Commissioner Roger Goodall and Patriots owner Robert Kraft in an attempt to get back the 2016 first- round pick and the 2017 fourth-round pick taken from their favorite team in the wake of "Deflategate."

According to news reports, seven Patriots fans are being represented by Maine lawyer Seth Carey in their federal lawsuit that charges the league and its commissioner with fraud, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and racketeering. The lawsuit names Kraft as a defendant because he failed to try to persuade the NFL to change its mind regarding the penalties.

“In short, after a three-month, multi-million dollar investigation, actual proof of a plot to deflate footballs was never found,” Carey writes. “In the absence of such evidence, it is difficult to understand why [outside investigator Ted] Wells found such a plot ‘more probable than not.'”

The seven fans include a season ticket holder from Connecticut who said the scandal has left his 7-year-old daughter disillusioned and a Florida man who said the NFL's sanctions have caused him stress and lost sleep.

The Patriots and league declined to comment.

—Source:  profootballtalk.nbcsports.com and espn.go.com