NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has come to the conclusion that the New England Patriots violated league rules when they used a camera to tape defensive signals by the New York Jets' coaches, EPSN.com reported Tuesday. 

It's a serious violation that could lead to severe sanctions against the team.

NFL security officials confiscated a camera and tape from Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella on the sideline Sunday, when Jets head coach Eric Magine suspected Estrella was recording the Jets' defensive signals.

Sources told ESPN that the evidence on the tape confirmed the suspicion.

ESPN reported that Goodell is considering docking the Patriots "multiple draft picks" because it is a serious competitive violation.

The Patriots have been suspected in previous incidents, including a game against the Packers in Green Bay last November.

The Patriots will be allowed to make its case with the NFL this week.

Patriots spokesman Stacey James said a SportsCenter 5 report Tuesday that coach Bill Belichick had been summoned to New York by the NFL commissioner was not correct.

SportsCenter 5 reporter Mike Dowling said a league source told him the meeting in New York was scheduled for Friday.

An NFL official told SportsCenter 5 that teams have the chance to respond to such allegations, but the meeting does not need to take place in person.

"There is an investigation going on now, and perhaps an adjudication of it, and I think it would be inappropriate at this time to make any comment," team owner Robert Kraft said Tuesday.

"When you're successful in anything, a lot of people like to try to take you down and do different things. We understand that," said Kraft.

Belichick had no comment, saying it was a league matter.

"The rule is that no video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches' booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game," the league said in a statement from spokesman Greg Aiello. "Clubs have specifically been reminded in the past that the videotaping of an opponent's offensive or defensive signals on the sidelines is prohibited."

The photographer was accused of illegally videotaping Jets' defensive coordinator Bob Sutton's hand signals, apparently to relay onto the field.

Jets head coach Eric Mangine, a former Patriots defensive coordinator, claimed he saw the spying, but he was remaining mum about the investigation.

"Those are all league-related matters and anything that deals with an issue like this or anything on a team-by-team basis, they all go to the league," Mangine said.

Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs said he's offended by the accusation.

"We take pride in what we do. We know the rules of the game. By no facet or shape or form have we ever tried to cheat or anything like that because we don't need to," Hobbs said in a statement.