SAN FRANCISCO (AP) 鈥� 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鈥檚 class, which will be announced Thursday in San Francisco ahead of the that will feature his team facing the Seattle Seahawks. Kraft was a first-time finalist this year, along with former Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Belichick also 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 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. 鈥淗e鈥檚 more than deserving. He will be in the Hall of Fame. I鈥檓 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 seniors candidates 鈥� Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood 鈥� 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 鈥淪pygate鈥� in the 2007 season and the 鈥淒eflategate” 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).
___
AP NFL:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
