Robert Kraft will have to wait at least another year to reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The New England Patriots owner, who has made a concerted push in recent years to be enshrined in Canton, was passed over by the Hall’s contributor committee in favor of NFL co-founder Ralph Hay, according to ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr.
Kraft was previously a favorite to receive enshrinement, especially with the introduction of the contributor committee. Previously, Kraft had to compete with coaches for induction because a single subcommittee was in charge of picking non-player names for the ballot, but this year he only had to beat out other owners, executives and assorted figures in the game.
So it’s a bit of a surprise Kraft didn’t make it, as one ESPN source bluntly put it:
“It’s a huge surprise,” said one source, who insisted on anonymity. “And it’s very disappointing. Unless you are an NFL historian, you don’t know who Ralph Hay is.”
Hay, who died in 1944, owned the Canton Bulldogs from 1918 to 1923. Those five years of ownership included the meeting hosted by Hay that led to the creation of the first incarnation of the NFL.
Kraft’s résumé is a bit different. The 83-year-old purchased a controlling stake in the Patriots in 1994 and has since presided over the most successful franchise of the 21st century. Many will credit Tom Brady and Bill Belichick more for those six Super Bowls, but Kraft has made it pretty clear he believe he deserves at least some responsibility.
It was reported earlier this year Kraft’s camp has been privately arguing for his enshrinement for a decade or so, lobbying voters overseeing both a book and docuseries about the Patriots dynasty that painted him in a very favorable light. The fact that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is already in is apparently something of a sore spot.
Of course, it’s not like Kraft’s tenure with the NFL is spotless, between the Patriots’ cheating scandals and his own incident at a massage parlor in Florida. He can only hope the voters who matter see it a different way next year.