Will Robert Kraft Ever Sell New England Patriots?
No one knows what the New England Patriots' future holds after an ugly start to the 2023 season. Don't, however, expect its supervisor to change.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft confirmed that he has no plans to sell the team in an interview with businessman/lawyer David Rubenstein. Kraft has been the outright owner of the Patriots since 1994, which marked the completion of a long-developing quest to buy the team, dating back to his purchase of Foxboro Raceway in 1985.
For as long as he lives, the 82-year-old Kraft vowed to keep the Patriots under his control and hopes that his children will carry on the legacy after he passes, even though Rubenstein believes that the Patriots would be worth at least $8-10 billion considering the far less successful Washington Commanders were recently sold for $6 billion.
"Never in my lifetime will we sell," Kraft said. "I hope my children keep it going as well."
Kraft, 82, has been the controlling owner of the Patriots since 1994 (USA TODAY SPORTS)
Kraft has four sons from his marriage to the late Myra (Jonathan, Daniel, Joshua, and David). Under his watch, the Patriots have become one of the model franchises in all of professional sports, having won six Super Bowls in the new century. Kraft, however, appears to find the sense of "community" built through his ownership more valuable than any Vince Lombardi Trophy hoist.
"It's a way to build bridges," Kraft said of team ownership. "You bring people of all backgrounds together. I think back to when we were privileged to win our first Super Bowl three or four months after 9/11, and Boston, a city of 600,000 people, a million and a half people came out onto the streets (on) a very cold day. Black, white, Asian, gay, every background, all putting community and team first. That's a privilege and an honor.
"I look at this team like a community asset and I'm never going to sell it."
Kraft's promising to stick around, but he might have his work cut out for him: New England (1-4) is off to its worst start since the 2000 season and the team appears to be well on the verge of missing consecutive postseasons for the first time since 1999-00, the only time that's occurred in the Kraft era. The past two losses have been particularly egregious, as the Patriots dropped consecutive interconference tilts to Dallas and New Orleans by a combined 69 points. Prior to the first, a 38-3 loss to the former, no team overseen by Kraft had dropped consecutive games by at least 30 points, a trend that dated back to 1970.
New England will look to get back on the right track on Sunday when they face the Las Vegas Raiders in Sin City (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS).
