Robert Kraft is also going to have to wait at least another year to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
According to ESPN, the longtime New England Patriots owner was not selected for induction in 2026. Kraft’s omission comes as former Patriots coach Bill Belichick is also set to miss out on being a part of the Hall of Fame class this year.
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Kraft and Belichick were among five people who were up for induction in a pool separate from the modern-era finalists. The two were with former players Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood in the same pool. Per Hall of Fame rules, a maximum of three of the five could make the hall this year and each person needed at least 40 of the 50 votes from the voting committee to be eligible for induction.
If none of the five received at least 40 votes, the person with the most votes gets in. Inductees will be officially announced Thursday.
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This was Belichick’s first year eligible for the hall, and his omission has led to widespread calls for the Hall of Fame to overhaul its voting process. The Patriots won six Super Bowls with Belichick in charge and he was part of two other Super Bowl-winning teams as an assistant coach. He seemed like a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame this season until news emerged that he had fallen short.
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Kraft, 84, was first nominated for the Hall of Fame in 2013. He became a finalist for the first time this season after he was a semifinalist in 2025. He’s become one of the most powerful team owners in the NFL as the Patriots emerged as the most successful team of the 2000s. Kraft played key roles in the NFL’s labor relations as well as its media rights deals with television networks and streaming services.
He purchased the Patriots in 1994 from James Orthwein after previously purchasing the Patriots’ Sullivan Stadium via bankruptcy proceedings.
Five club owners have been inducted into the Hall of Fame this century. That group includes the Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, who was enshrined in 2017. Though Jones is perhaps the one owner with more sway across the league than Kraft, the Cowboys have famously not won a Super Bowl since their glory days of the 1990s.
The Patriots, meanwhile, are making their 11th Super Bowl appearance of Kraft’s tenure on Sunday in Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks. That’s the most Super Bowl appearances of any owner’s team.
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But did the Patriots’ cheating scandals play a role in Kraft’s omission in 2026? A week ago, ESPN reported that both Spygate and Deflategate came up during deliberations about Belichick’s candidacy. Were they also a topic among voters when Kraft was discussed?
Kraft’s omission could also simply be further proof that the Hall of Fame’s voting process needs to be overhauled. At least one voter said he didn’t vote for Belichick despite believing the coach was a surefire Hall of Famer. Why? Because he also felt the three players on the ballot were deserving in what could be their last chance to ever make the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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