PHOENIX -- Patriots owner Robert Kraft made a surprise appearance at the team's opening news conference of Super Bowl XLIX on Monday, saying the NFL will owe the Patriots an apology if its investigation over deflated footballs doesn't uncover wrongdoing.

"If the Wells investigation is not able to definitively determine that our organization tampered with the air pressure on the footballs, I would expect and hope that the league would apologize to our entire team and, in particular, coach [Bill] Belichick and Tom Brady for what they have had to endure this past week," Kraft said, referring to attorney Ted Wells, who is leading the investigation with NFL executive vice president Jeff Pash.

Wells previously conducted the league's probe into the Miami Dolphins' bullying scandal.