FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Welcome back, Roger.

Well, sort of.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will make his first appearance at Gillette Stadium for a meaningful game since the Deflategate saga commenced in 2015, when the new season kicks off with another Super Bowl celebration for the New England Patriots before their opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The guess here is that the sight of Goodell will spark jeers from rabid Patriots fans, reflecting the bad blood sparked after the NFL spanked the team – and star quarterback Tom Brady – for allegedly deflating footballs.

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Yet Patriots owner Robert Kraft -- who pledged before Super Bowl LI in February that he would formally invite Goodell to the opener if the Patriots won another crown -- sounds like a gracious host.

“He has the right to come to any game he wants,” Kraft told USA TODAY Sports. “I hope he enjoys the game as much as I plan to enjoy the game.”

While it’s traditional for the commissioner to attend the showcase kickoff game, Goodell skipped New England’s opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015. That went over with Patriots fans like a serious snub – a week after Brady received a legal stay of the four-game suspension that he ultimately served last year after a nasty legal battle with the NFL.

Now Goodell will be on hand to witness the pregame celebration that will mark New England’s fifth Super Bowl crown with coach Bill Belichick and Brady.

Bad blood?

When Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was asked this week for his reaction to Goodell’s impending presence at the game, he offered a succinct response: “Ask Tom.”

Except for a preseason game last month, Goodell hasn’t attended a contest at Gillette Stadium since the AFC title game between the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts that marked the start of the Deflategate saga.

Although Kraft publicly blasted the NFL on numerous occasions for its handling of the case – which included $1 million in fines and the loss of a first-round pick in addition to Brady’s suspension – the team owner insists that his relationship with Goodell is now “solid."

Before Deflategate, Kraft was arguably Goodell’s most supportive team owner and a trusted resource to tap on a variety of league issues. In getting beyond Deflategate, Kraft contends that he has been able to “compartmentalize” when considering the league matters that he addresses with Goodell.

“We have a professional relationship,” Kraft said Wednesday, before speaking at a community-service event at Gillette Stadium. “I think it’s very solid. We’ve worked together with the broadcast committee for 15 years, which generates 60% of league revenues.”

Speaking of broadcasting, Kraft, chairman of the NFL’s broadcast committee, expects that the NFL’s TV ratings will rebound this year after taking a dip in 2016. Overall, ratings for NFL games were down 8% last season from the previous year.

“It wasn’t just the Trump factor,” Kraft said. “We came back with a 2% increase after the election. You know what the other difference was last year? The fantasy players. They spent a lot of money, Draft Kings and Fan Duel. Their business was huge. I bet our ratings will be rising.”

The daily fantasy game sites, huge advertisers in 2015, sat out last season amid regulatory and other assorted legal battles. Those companies will re-launch their popular games this season.

(Kraft, incidentally, personally invests in the fantasy gaming industry).

I’m wondering, though, whether various forms of off-the-field drama attached to the NFL – including the national anthem protests that began with now-unemployed quarterback Colin Kaepernick, on the heels of Deflategate – have factored into sagging ratings.

Kraft: “I’m concerned that we get our messaging out better. Guys in our locker room, those are some of the most outstanding young men. It’s just sad to me that we don’t talk about all the wonderful things that they are doing.”

Kraft refused to address deeper issues, including social matters behind the protests and his relationship with President Donald Trump, who was given a Super Bowl ring.

“It’s something I’d talk to you about in more detail at another time,” he maintained.

No, at the moment, his big message revolves around another Super Bowl celebration and with Goodell as a witness, trying to top the last one.

As Kraft put it, “That’s high-class problems.”