DeflateGate Vendetta?

I have to wonder, why is NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell seemingly so hell-bent on dragging Tom Brady's name through the mud? The league leaked the initial report to ESPN (and then never corrected it) claiming 11 of 12 footballs were 2psi under the limit which points the finger at the QB and equipment guys. Then the league leaks out that Brady destroyed his phone and with it the 10,000(!) text messages he sent, implying that it was done with nefarious intentions. This is in spite of Ted Wells noting he didn't need the device, and an admission by the league in its appeal ruling that Brady and his lawyers offered up the names and phone numbers of everyone he texted with during the period in question, rendering the physical device wholly irrelevant to the investigation.

Nothing about this whole incident has been on the up and up, but it just seems like the Commissioner has had it out for Brady from the beginning, and I fail to see how it benefits the league to attack one of its most marketable stars.