Photo: Getty Images
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was reportedly snubbed from the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, days after reports that his longtime former head coach Bill Belichick also fell short of induction, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday (February 3).
"Patriots owner Robert Kraft, like his former head coach Bill Belichick, was not selected for entry into this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame class, sources told ESPN. The Class of 2026 will be revealed Thursday at NFL Honors in San Francisco, but it will not include Kraft," Schefter wrote on his X account.
Kraft purchased the Patriots in 1994 and has been at the helm for all six of the franchise's Super Bowl victories, which are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most in NFL history. The report came less than a week after Belichick, a record six-time Super Bowl champion head coach with the Patriots and two-time Super Bowl champion assistant coach with the New York Giants, reportedly received less than the 40 of 50 votes needed for induction, ESPN's Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. reported.
Belichick reportedly received a call from a Hall of Fame representative on January 23 notifying him of the voting that reportedly left him "puzzled" and "disappointed," according to several sources.
"Six Super Bowls isn't enough?" Belichick reportedly asked an associate, referencing his run with the New England Patriots, while discussing his Hall of Fame snub.
"Politics kept him out. He doesn't believe this is a reflection on his accomplishments," one source with knowledge of Belichick's thinking told ESPN, though the coach reportedly declined to comment.
A spokesperson for the Pro Football Hall of Fame said, "The Pro Football Hall of Fame does not comment on the voting of the Selection Committee and awaits the unveiling of the Class of 2026 at 'NFL Honors' on Feb. 5 in San Francisco," in a statement obtained by ESPN. Belichick, who is currently the head football coach at the University of North Carolina, is the third-winningest coach in NFL history and one of seven NFL head coaches to have spent more than 20 years with one franchise following George Halas (40) of the Chicago Bears, Curly Lambeau (29) of the Green Bay Packers, Tom Landry (29) of the Dallas Cowboys, Don Shula (26) of the Miami Dolphins, Steven Owen (24) of the New York Giants and Chuck Noll of the Pittsburgh Steelers, all of whom have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.