Regarding Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ induction into the Hall of Fame, owner of the New England Patriots Robert Kraft did not hold anything back.
“He gets into the NFC title game, even though he hasn’t attended in 20 years?” via ESPN, Kraft informed a confidant. “How does that operate?”
Kraft has been looking for his ticket to Canton for a while now. He and Mike Holmgren, the former offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, were the semi-finalists for the 2024 Hall of Fame class. Jones made it to Canton in 2017, which infuriated Kraft even if Kraft did not.
When contrasting Jones’s career with his own, the Patriots owner has a point. From 1991 to 1996, the Cowboys appeared in six straight postseasons, won three Super Bowls, and five NFC East championships. But since the 1995 season, the Cowboys haven’t attended a Super Bowl or even an NFC Championship game.
What is Robert Kraft, the owner of the Patriots, putting off?
As an owner, Kraft seems to have made almost all the correct choices. creating a dynasty, selecting the ideal quarterback in the draft, and hiring the ideal coach. Before the Cowboys owner took over, he appeared to be Jones. In 1996, New England made it to the Super Bowl for the first time in eleven years. Along with helping select franchise quarterback Tom Brady, Kraft acquired former head coach Bill Belichick through trade. From 2001 to 2018, that team won six Super Bowl championships.
But following the Patriots’ victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, there was the notorious deflate-gate controversy. In addition, Kraft was caught on camera funding sex acts at a day spa while running a prostitution network in Florida. Notwithstanding the controversies, Kraft’s impressive background speaks for itself.
Bill Polian, the general manager of the Indianapolis Colts and a former adversary, was too familiar with Kraft. One of the fiercest rivalries in the AFC and the NFL at large was between the Patriots and Colts. Despite the animosity between the franchises, each one was always respectful of the other. Polian finds it incomprehensible that Kraft isn’t a Canton institution. He has twice attested to the Patriots owner’s ability to purchase flowers in Canton.
According to Polian, “Bob Kraft checks every box to get into the Hall of Fame.” “I couldn’t sleep last year when he wasn’t admitted. It still makes me sick to my stomach.
The new regulations that divide candidates for consideration into coaches and contributors ought to facilitate Kraft’s route to Canton and solidify his nomination at last.
Robert Kraft has built an $11 billion empire and earned six Super Bowl rings—though one was taken by Vladimir Putin during a 2005 meeting in Russia. However, despite his success as owner of the New England Patriots, Kraft has not yet achieved his goal of being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Over the past decade, three NFL owners have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, but Kraft, now 83, has repeatedly been overlooked, despite many believing he deserves the honor. Hall of Famer Bill Polian, former Colts general manager, has twice advocated for Kraft’s induction, saying, “There’s no box that Bob Kraft doesn’t check to get into the Hall of Fame,” and expressing deep disappointment when Kraft was not selected last year.
No current owner has been more persistent in pursuing Hall of Fame recognition, yet Kraft continues to be denied. Since 2012, his supporters have lobbied voters on his behalf. In 2016, Eddie DeBartolo Jr., former San Francisco 49ers owner, was inducted, even after losing his team due to an extortion case, despite Kraft having more recent success. When Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, was inducted in 2017, Kraft and his circle were frustrated. They believed Kraft’s contributions to the NFL’s growth, particularly in media and labor negotiations, were being overlooked. Kraft saw Jones’ induction as an insult, feeling it suggested Jones played a greater role in the NFL’s success than he had.
“He hasn’t even reached the NFC Championship game in 20 years, and he gets in?” Kraft reportedly said, questioning the decision.
