SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — It appears New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft will have to wait at least another year before he can enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
ESPN, citing multiple league sources, reported Tuesday that Kraft was not selected for entry into this year’s class, which will be announced Thursday in San Francisco ahead of the Super Bowl that will feature his team facing the Seattle Seahawks. Kraft was a first-time finalist this year, along with former Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
FILE — New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft walks the sidelines pregame before an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan)(Gregory Payan | AP)
Belichick also didn’t receive the necessary 40 votes from the 50-person panel of media members and other Hall of Famers, ESPN reported last week, citing four unidentified sources. ESPN said Belichick received a call with the news.
Now the man who hired him and gave him vast leeway to run the team as it won six Super Bowl titles will remain on the outside.
Current Patriots coach Mike Vrabel on Tuesday called the Kraft snub unfortunate. “He’s more than deserving. He will be in the Hall of Fame. I’m not in charge of deciding when that happens,” he said.
The Hall of Fame has said it won’t comment on who did or didn’t get in until after the class is announced Thursday night.
Under new rules put in place last year, Kraft and Belichick were grouped with three senior candidates — Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood — who all had been retired for at least 25 seasons. Voters had to choose three of the five, with anyone getting 80% of the votes, or the highest vote-getter if no one reached that threshold, getting into the Hall.
Two incidents may have played a role in Kraft’s apparent snub: the sign-stealing scandal dubbed “Spygate” in the 2007 season and the “Deflategate” scandal, which saw the team penalized for its role in using underinflated footballs in the AFC championship game during the 2014 season.
Entering this cycle, the Pro Football Hall of Fame had 15 NFL owners among its membership, including Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys), Pat Bowlen (Denver Broncos), Eddie DeBartolo Jr. (San Francisco 49ers), Al Davis (Raiders), and Ralph Wilson (Bills).
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