THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS are the most successful NFL franchise in history for a reason.
It all starts from the top with good ownership and none have had it better than the Patriots.
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The New England Patriots won the AFC Championship game over the Denver Broncos 10-7Credit: Getty
The Patriots have won the Super Bowl six times in their historyCredit: Getty
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That is why they’re now aiming to win their seventh Super Bowl when they play the Seattle Seahawks on February 8.
In his first year as Patriots head coach, Mike Vrabel has taken a 4-13 team to the Super Bowl in the space of just one season.
A lot of credit has to go to Vrabel and his AFC Championship-winning team, but what about the owner who enabled his success in the first place?
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Who are the New England Patriots owners?
The New England Patriots have had four owners since their inception in 1959.
None delivered any league championship success apart from their current owner, Robert Kraft.
The franchise is owned by Kraft Group, of which Robert is the founder and CEO, and he is also the CEO of the NFL team as a result.
Kraft is a longtime fan of the Patriots and had been a season ticket holder since 1971 before he made his big move.
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He bought the team from James Orthwein in January 1994 for an estimated $172 million.
A Boston paper magnate, Kraft was particularly crafty in the way he bought the team.
He had bought the old Patriots’ stadium, Foxboro, out of bankruptcy in 1988.
When Orthwein wanted to move the team to St. Louis in the early 90s, Kraft held him to the lease to block it and essentially forced the sale through.
Orthwein wanted nothing to do with the NFL team if he couldn’t move it and Kraft knew that.
How many times have the Patriots reached the Super Bowl under the Kraft ownership?
The Patriots have reached the Super Bowl a stunning 11 times, which is also the most in NFL history.
Of those 11 times, only one Super Bowl appearance came outside of the Kraft ownership era.
New England made it to the big game in 1986 under original owner Billy Sullivan but were soundly beaten 46-10 by the Chicago Bears.
The Patriots first reached it with Kraft as owner in 1997 under head coach Bill Parcell, but they lost that too to the Green Bay Packers.
After some big changes made by Kraft, they then established a dynasty that will likely never be repeated under Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
Belichick and Brady went to nine Super Bowls together between 2002 and 2019 and won an astonishing six.
The 2026 Super Bowl now stands as the perfect chance for Vrabel and Drake Maye to write their own history in the Kraft era.
When is the Super Bowl 2026?
This year’s Super Bowl is scheduled to start at the usual slot of 6:30pm ET on Sunday, February 8.
That means it will be 3:30pm local time in Santa Clara
And this equates to 11:30pm GMT and 12:30am CET on Monday, February 9.
How to watch Super Bowl LX
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THE biggest night in the sports calendar is almost upon us – and here’s how to watch it live.
Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California will be the venue for Super Bowl LX on Sunday 8 February.
The kings of the AFC will face the best team in the NFC at 6:30 pm ET, while Bad Bunny is lined up for the halftime show.
NBC is the official broadcaster for this year’s showpiece.
Subscribe HERE to Peacock to watch all the action from Levi’s Stadium.