Patriots owner Robert Kraft also reportedly falls short in Hall of Fame vote

Neither Bill Belichick nor Robert Kraft will receive a bust in Canton this year.

Like Belichick, Kraft also did not meet the voting threshold for inclusion in the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Tuesday.

Both needed to receive votes from at least 80% the 50-person senior committee, each member of which could cast ballots for up to three of this year’s five finalists (Belichick, Kraft and former players Roger Craig, Ken Anderson and L.C. Greenwood).

Evidently, neither did, despite leading one of the most successful and longest-running dynasties in the history of modern professional sports. In 24 seasons with Belichick as the Patriots’ head coach and Kraft as team owner before their messy split in 2024, New England reached nine Super Bowls and won six.

The Patriots also appeared in one Super Bowl earlier in Kraft’s ownership tenure, which began when he bought the franchise in 1994, and will play in another this Sunday when they face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, Calif.

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Belichick’s Hall of Fame snub, which came in the coach’s first year of eligibility, drew widespread criticism last week, both of the voters’ judgment and of the system used to elect senior candidates. That system operates separately from how modern-era inductees are chosen.

The 84-year-old Kraft said in a statement last Wednesday that Belichick “is the greatest coach of all time, and he unequivocally deserves to be a unanimous first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer.”

“Whatever perceptions may exist about any personal differences between Bill and me, I strongly believe Bill Belichick’s record and body of work speak for themselves,” Kraft said. “As head coach of the New England Patriots for more than two decades, he set the standard for on-field excellence, preparation, and sustained success in the free agency and salary cap era of the National Football League.”

In his annual Super Bowl week news conference, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he believes Belichick and Kraft both will eventually be inducted.

“Bill Belichick’s record goes without saying, same with the Patriots and Robert Kraft, who is also a candidate,” Goodell told reporters Monday. “They are spectacular. They have contributed so much to this game, and I believe they will be Hall of Famers.”

Goodell, speaking before Kraft’s snub was reported, called Belichick missing the Hall of Fame cut “a timing issue.”

“There are a lot of people who are deserving of this, so I think that’s something that the media will have to make that determination as they go,” he said. “But there are a lot of people who want to be in the Hall of Fame, and Bill Belichick deserves to be in that Hall of Fame, too.”

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