The 2014-2015 NFL season ended on Feb. 1 when the final seconds ticked off the clock in Glendale, Arizona, the site of the Super Bowl. It featured arguably the weirdest Roman numeral associated (XLIX) and inarguably the most bizarre final sequence of events: Jermain Kearse’s catch, Marshawn Lynch’s just-short run, Malcolm Butler’s backbreaking interception, Tom Brady’s hard count drawing the Seahawks offside and a random brawl thrown in for good measure.

Coincidentally, the silliness of that final sequence of plays mirrors the silliness of the NFL offseason, a time when news is scarce but airtime is precious. As a result, fans of the NFL will spend the next few agonizing months absorbing all they can, treating rumors as verified fact and otherwise setting BLAH. Here are some of the more intriguing storylines that will dominate this coming NFL offseason:

1. DeflateGate — the conclusion. What began as an open-and-shut case of Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots totally breaking the rules and scoffing at the integrity of the game of football has now devolved into a series of murky rumors and utter chaos. Lost in the buildup to Super Bowl Sunday was a report that stated that, contrary to the earlier leaked rumors, only one of the footballs inspected at halftime was significantly under the legal limit, with the other ten just a few ticks below the minimum allowable pressure. Further reports suggested that this football was the one provided by the Indianapolis Colts’ sideline to kickstart the investigation.

The NFL later admitted that officials never actually measured the pressure of each football before the game, and thus any comparison of pressure losses between the Colts’ and Patriots’ footballs becomes impossible. Scientific experts chimed in with widely varied conclusions. Someone did a hack-job statistical analysis and concluded that the Patriots didn’t fumble as much as they should have, and thus they were cheating.

Conspiracy theorists looked towards the Baltimore Ravens, Ryan Grigson (the Colts GM) and Mike Kensil (a former New York Jets executive) suspiciously. The media took this controversy to a whole new level, reporting just about anything DeflateGate related without any semblance of verification.

Victimized in this whole mess was the Patriots staffer who took the footballs to a bathroom for 90 seconds (ostensibly to actually use the restroom) and a ball attendant who was falsely accused of trying to introduce an illegal ball into the game. This story was refuted by Adam Schefter, who posited that a kicking ball was indeed missing and the ball attendant was merely trying to replace it. I’m just eager to find out what Ted Wells, the investigator whom the NFL appointed to sort out the situation, discovers in his quest for the truth.

2. Free agency dilemmas. This offseason brings with it a cohort of free agents who can reasonably claim to be at the top of their respective positions’ hierarchies. Offensively, we have Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas, DeMarco Murray, Randall Cobb, Mike Iupati and a whole host of solid squad players that can elevate any team. Defensively, the pearl in the entire class is Ndamukong Suh, who can singlehandedly wreak havoc from the nose tackle position.

However, other stars include Terrance Knighton, Justin Houston, Jason Pierre-Paul, Rolando McClain, Devin McCourty and potentially Darrelle Revis, depending on how stingy the Patriots get. In a normal year, given the amount of talent that these players have, their own teams would have them resigned in a flash. But periodic cap mismanagement is forcing some teams to make very tough decisions. For instance, the Cowboys will have to let either Murray or Bryant walk, the Lions cannot afford Suh on top of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson, and the Broncos can’t keep the entire quartet of Julius Thomas, Demaryius Thomas, Terrance Knighton and Chris Harris. The outcomes of these tough decisions will go a long way towards shaping the future of the NFL.

3. The draft. So much drama! So little time! We’ll start at the top of the draft, where a quarterback is guaranteed to be taken. The question is, which one? Jameis Winston flamed out in the first ever iteration of the College Football Playoff, and his character concerns are truly problematic given the disastrous offseason the NFL had last year. But according to both Mel Kiper and Todd McShay, he grades out to be the second greatest quarterback prospect in the last 30 years, behind only Andrew Luck.

Marcus Mariota, conversely, appears to be a model human being with incredible athleticism, but there are concerns that his smaller frame and his offensive scheme in college won’t have him as “pro-ready” as Winston. This question will drive any and all movement at the top of the draft — expect some team to mortgage its future to try to pick up one of these potential saviors.

Moving down along the board, we see a bevy of talented pass rushers, a relative dearth of meat-and-potatoes offensive linemen, a bunch of players with injury concerns and a number of highly skilled ball-toters and pass-catchers. As teams start to wheel and deal, the only statement I am willing to guarantee is that the New England Patriots will not take a player with the 32nd pick of the first round. I’ll bet my readers $20 (collectively) that the Great Hoodie trades down for more picks.

4. The future of the NFL. Player safety as an issue isn’t going away. Neither are the shadows of the Ray Rice, Greg Hardy and Adrian Peterson incidents that cast a pall over this entire season. Roger Goodell’s hold on the commissioner position is increasingly tenuous, as evidenced by the roasting he received at the hands of Bob Kraft (one of his staunchest supporters!) in the buildup to the Super Bowl and the combative nature of his media session, with Goodell either ducking, waffling or ignoring the pointed questions he was dealt.

And you’ve got the heavy-handed and illogical discipline that is handed out for trivial issues, like media availability and excessive celebrations (hey, Marshawn!) versus the abhorrently light penalties for actual crimes (hey, Ray Rice before public backlash!). The NFL has slowly frittered away its overwhelming support, and this could come back to bite it in the near future. Work is needed to both correct these issues and repair the NFL’s image in the public eye.

With such exciting things to ponder, the silly season should be a blast to follow. But my heart already aches for September, when professional football begins anew.

To claim your share in Vignesh’s $20 offer, contact him at viggy ‘at’ stanford.edu.