Robert Kraft will have to wait at least one more year to make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The owner of the New England Patriots, who has made a concerted effort in recent years to be enshrined in Canton, was passed over by the Hall’s contributors committee in favor of NFL co-founder Ralph Hay. according to Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN.
Kraft was previously a favorite to receive enshrinement, especially with the introduction of the taxpayer committee. Previously, Kraft had to compete with coaches for induction because a single subcommittee was in charge of choosing 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 surprising that Kraft didn’t make it, as an ESPN source put it bluntly:
“It’s a big surprise,” said one source, who insisted on anonymity. “And it’s very disappointing. Unless you’re 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 reunion organized by Hay that led to the creation of the first incarnation of the NFL.
Kraft’s resume is a little different. The 83-year-old bought a majority stake in the Patriots in 1994 and has since presided over the most successful franchise of the 21st century. Many will give more credit to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick for those six Super Bowl titles, but Kraft has made it pretty clear that he believes he deserves at least some credit.
It was reported earlier this year that Kraft’s camp has been privately advocating for his enshrinement for about a decade, pressure voters oversee a book and docuseries about the Patriots dynasty that portrayed it in a very favorable light. The fact that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is already in is apparently a sore point.
Of course, it’s not like Kraft’s tenure in the NFL is flawless, between the Patriots’ cheating scandals and his own incident at a massage parlor in Florida. He can only hope that important voters will see him differently next year.