BOSTON -- New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick may be able to deduct the $500,000 fine leveled by the NFL from his taxes this year.

That's the consensus of a group of tax law professors who discussed the question in their online blog this week.

Belichick's fine -- the largest ever for an NFL coach and the biggest permitted by NFL rules -- was levied by the league after the team videotaped signals from New York Jets coaches earlier this month.

The blog entries, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, contain the postings of 12 tax law professors who mostly agreed that the fine is deductible.

In the view of many, it came down to whether it could be considered an ordinary and necessary business expense.

“Because, unfortunately, in this day and age, it probably is ‘ordinary’ for coaches and players in professional sports to cheat and, if caught, to be fined by the league, the fine levied on the Patriots’ coach can be viewed as an ordinary and necessary business expense,” wrote Myron Grauer of Capital University Law School.

Some bloggers wrote that being fined for “cheating” was not an ordinary expense, but Mike McIntyre of Wayne State University wrote Belichick may be able to claim to the IRS that he was not cheating.

“The fine was for violating a rule, not for cheating. No professional football game is played without someone breaking the rules. It is expected that people will break the rules,” McIntyre wrote.

Belichick has apologized to the team and its fans for the violation, which will also cost the Patriots at least one high draft choice next year.