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In talking around his decision to avoid a trip to New England this year during the playoffs for back-to-back trips to Atlanta, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he’d go there in the future if he was invited.

He’s been invited.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft was sitting on the front row of the press conference when Goodell said that, and issued a statement through the team later saying he’d welcome Goodell.

“I’ve talked to a lot of fans who would love to welcome Roger back to Gillette Stadium,” Kraft said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. “If we are fortunate enough to win on Sunday, the kickoff of the [2017] NFL season would present the perfect opportunity.”

Goodell denied any awkwardness with Kraft, though Kraft himself said their relationship might never be the same after the #DeflateGate investigation.

From our standpoint, we understand fans who are loyal and passionate for a team object and don’t like the outcome,” Goodell said. “I don’t expect for one second for people to agree with every decision I make or we make as a league. Those are always difficult, sometimes contentious, and sometimes less-than-perfect decisions. But you do them in the best interests in the long-term health of the game and the NFL.”

We’re sure the Patriots fans will agree, and will greet the commissioner warmly whenever he returns to Gillette Stadium.