The Pats are the crown jewel to the NFL
During their run, historical levels of fan interest and profits. They took an underperforming, large market loser franchise and turned it into a massive iconic profit center and an almost inexplicable perennial winner regardless the non-QB personnel.
They have the NFL's "Cover Girl" at QB and a very visible and now historically significant HC
Their owner is very active in league matters and carries clout with the other owners (he's made them significantly wealthier)
The commissioner went out of his way to make sure Spygate was completely damage controlled and those 3 Lombardi's remain untarnished in the eyes of the average football fan.
All of this shows in the way the referees call their games -ESPECIALLY in their building. I have never seen them lose on a controversial call or series of calls. Yet, they went to the SB because of one that wound up being a rule change - in their favor of course.
I feel like the refs do everything short of saying "Sorry Tom, Sorry Bill…..lot of people watching, hope you understand I have to call this.