The list of names heading into this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame announcement will not include Robert Kraft.
According to multiple league sources, the New England Patriots owner did not receive enough support from the Hall of Fame’s 50-person selection committee to earn induction into the Class of 2026. Kraft was a first-time finalist and fell short under a revamped voting system that also kept longtime Patriots head coach Bill Belichick out of this year’s class.
The timing was notable. For the first time, new voting rules placed Kraft and Belichick in direct competition within a smaller pool of finalists made up of contributors, coaches and senior players whose playing careers ended in 2000 or earlier. Kraft represented the contributor category, Belichick the coaches, alongside former players Roger Craig, Ken Anderson and L.C. Greenwood. Voters were asked to select three of the five, with induction requiring at least 40 votes. None reached that threshold.
Belichick’s exclusion sparked immediate and loud backlash last week, including a public defense from Kraft, who called his former coach “the greatest coach of all time” and said he deserved to be a unanimous first-ballot inductee. Kraft’s own omission now undercuts any speculation that support for him cost Belichick votes, and some around the league believe the new voting structure itself may have diluted backing for all candidates involved.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell echoed those sentiments, expressing confidence that both men will eventually be enshrined. Goodell pointed to the immense impact Kraft and Belichick have had on the league, describing their contributions as “spectacular” and worthy of Hall of Fame recognition in time.
That perspective is rooted in history. Since Kraft purchased the Patriots in 1994, the franchise has been transformed into one of the NFL’s most dominant organizations. New England has won six Super Bowls under Kraft’s ownership, reached 10 Super Bowls overall — more than any franchise under a single owner — and compiled 374 victories, compared to 225 wins before Kraft took over. Belichick, hired by Kraft in 2000, was at the center of that run, leading the Patriots to six championships and nine Super Bowl appearances while amassing 333 combined regular-season and playoff wins.
Beyond wins and titles, Kraft’s influence has extended into league governance, including key roles on ownership committees and involvement in resolving the 2011 lockout. Despite that résumé, his path to Canton remains unfinished. He was first nominated in 2013, reached the finalist stage for the first time this year, and now joins a list of influential owners who had to wait years before induction.
So, in a season that ended with New England once again reaching the Super Bowl, two figures synonymous with the Patriots dynasty will watch the Hall of Fame ceremony from the outside.
