The Pro Football Hall of Fame Should be Ashamed of Themselves

Over the past week or so, reports have started to surface about who will be part of the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. While the full class will be officially revealed later this week, it already feels fair to say this may go down as one of the most controversial Hall of Fame classes of all time.

And it has nothing to do with who is in it. It has everything to do with who is not.

Two of the most notable omissions come from what is arguably the greatest dynasty in the history of professional sports. Bill Belichick was eligible for induction into Canton for the first time in his career, and there should not have been a debate. He should have been a slam dunk first ballot Hall of Famer.

This is the greatest football coach of all time. Honestly, there is a strong argument that he is the greatest coach in the history of sports, period. As a head coach, Belichick won six Super Bowls with the Patriots. Before that, he won two more as a defensive coordinator with the New York Giants. His defensive game plans were so generational that they are literally displayed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

There is no world where Belichick is not a first ballot Hall of Famer. And yet, here we are.

I understand that Belichick’s reputation has taken a hit over the past few years. I also understand that it probably does not help that just two years after his departure from New England, the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl. But none of that should matter. On merit alone, this is a disgrace.

Then, as if that was not enough, it came out that Patriots owner Robert Kraft will also not be part of this year’s class.

Like, what are we doing here?

Robert Kraft saved football in Boston. The Patriots were on the verge of relocating to St. Louis before he bought the team in 1994. He hired Bill Belichick. That fact alone should put him in the Hall of Fame. If Jerry Jones is a Hall of Famer, then Robert Kraft is absolutely a Hall of Famer.

And yet, neither of them will be inducted this year.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is not supposed to be about personal biases. It is not supposed to be about grudges. It should not be about allegations of organizational cheating, which has long been rumored as a reason Belichick continues to be held back. If that is part of the reason Kraft is also being kept out, simply because he owned the team during that era, then the voters should be ashamed of themselves.

There is no scenario where Bill Belichick is not a first ballot Hall of Famer. There is no scenario where Robert Kraft is not in the Hall of Fame if we are going to allow owners to be inducted at all.

I am open to having a discussion about whether owners should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the first place. That is a fair debate. But once you open that door and put Jerry Jones in, the argument is over. Jones has not won a Super Bowl since the 1990s and has three championships total. Kraft has six. He has overseen a dynasty that spanned multiple decades. He has been to Super Bowls in nearly every era of his ownership, including now.

Kraft had the guts to fire Belichick when it was time. He may have messed up the initial replacement, but he corrected course quickly, and the Patriots are right back in the Super Bowl.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame should be about the people who are part of the story of football. You cannot tell the story of football without Bill Belichick. You cannot tell it without Robert Kraft. And you absolutely cannot tell it without the New England Patriots dynasty they built together.

The only way any of this makes sense is if the Hall of Fame is planning a full Patriots class in a few years. A class that includes Belichick, Kraft, and Tom Brady once he becomes eligible. That is the only explanation that even comes close to justifying this decision.

But on merit alone, both Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft should be in Canton right now.

It is a shame that Kraft did not get in this year. It is an even bigger disgrace that Belichick was not a first ballot Hall of Famer.

At the end of the day, those two men should have been enshrined in Canton, Ohio this year. And maybe, just maybe, they can now bond over their shared frustration with this process. Their relationship has reportedly been strained for years, and that tension ultimately led to Belichick’s firing.

Who knows. Maybe their mutual hatred of the Pro Football Hall of Fame voters will finally bring them back together.