Robert Kraft, Just Like Bill Belichick, Didn’t Make the Hall of Fame This Year Either

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Robert Kraft is not a Hall of Famer. No matter how many Super Bowls his team has won or controversy-gates they have survived, Kraft remains just another civilian in the eyes of the Hall of Fame voting committee.
Kraft became a finalist this year for the first time in over a decade of being eligible, but failed to get enough votes to earn his gold jacket according to, ESPN's Adam Schefter. When the Hall of Fame Class of 2026 is announced on Thursday night, Kraft's name will not appear on that list.
It was a shock when Kraft's longtime coach Bill Belichick was not named a finalist last week while Kraft moved on in the process. People were bewildered by one of the winningest coaches in football history not being a first ballot Hall of Famer. Now with Kraft being denied entry yet again, it's starting to look like there could be some anti-New England bias at play. Of course, we also might find out over the next few days that because of the way the voting works there's plausible deniability for any voter who didn't select Kraft.
The Patriots' owner has been campaigning for a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for years. Back in 2023 MassLive did a whole series about his candidacy, including a comparison to how he stacked up favorably against other owners who had already made the Hall.
If Kraft isn't worthy of the Hall of Fame at this point, you have to wonder if he will ever be in the eyes of those who currently hold votes.
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Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.
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