Robert Kraft Is Reportedly Still Salty About Jerry Jones’ Hall Of Fame Nod

Which NFL owner is more Hall of Fame-worthy: Robert Kraft or Jerry Jones?

Right now, only one of the two is enshrined in Canton. Jones was inducted in 2017, and the longtime Dallas Cowboys owner threw himself a massive bash, headlined by Justin Timberlake, to celebrate. Meanwhile, Kraft looked on with “anger and confusion,” according to ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr.

“He hasn’t been to the NFC title game in two decades, and he gets in?” Kraft reportedly told a friend. “How does that work?”

And apparently, Kraft isn’t the only one who feels that way. An anonymous HOF voter told Van Natta that Jones’ induction “angered all kinds of people because his team doesn’t win.”

“The minute he got in, it changed the landscape for some of these owners and made the lobbying even more aggressive,” the voter said. “If Jerry’s in, the owners with egos are thinking, why can’t I be in?”

Jerry Jones was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

One candidate who has produced plenty of winning teams, though, is Kraft. 

The New England Patriots owner has six Super Bowl rings and 10 Super Bowl appearances — both the most-ever for an NFL owner — over a 20-year reign as the NFL’s best team. Kraft has also long been one of the most influential owners in the NFL, helping negotiate the end of the 2011 lockout and chairing the owner media committee that recently negotiated $110 billion in TV rights deals.

So, over the course of the last decade, Kraft’s camp has been pushing to get him into the Hall of Fame, but to no avail. The 12-person subcommittee determining the final ballot hasn’t even forwarded his name once to the full 50 selectors.

Why Isn’t Robert Kraft In The Pro Football Hall Of Fame?

Apparently, it comes down to one major reason: the scandals. 

Kraft has overseen the Patriots throughout the Spygate scandal, the Deflategate scandal and his own scandal involving “happy endings” at a massage parlor in Florida. But it’s the Spygate scandal that ruffled the voters’ feathers the most.

“Some voters believe he was part of the biggest cheating scandal in NFL history,” a veteran Hall of Fame voter said. “That’s a very tough one to overcome.”

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft hugs head coach Bill Belichick after the AFC Championship Game.

(Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

In 2007, the Patriots were fined $250,000 and docked a first-round pick for illegally videotaping the Jets’ signals during New England’s Week 1 win over New York. Then-Patriots coach Bill Belichick— who is considered a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame as soon as he is eligible for induction — was fined $500,000. 

Kraft has repeatedly denied any knowledge of or involvement in Spygate. And in the recent Apple TV+ documentary, The Dynasty, the Pats’ owner said he even called Belichick a “schmuck” back then for attempting to steal signs.

Still, given that the 83-year-old is still waiting for his call from Canton, the controversy obviously left a stain on his reputation.

Is the wait for a HOF nod finally over for Robert Kraft? (Photo: Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports)

But the wait might just be over soon. In August, the Hall’s board of directors made a massive change to the voting process by separating coaches and owners for consideration. In other words, when the selection process begins in October this year, Kraft won’t have to compete with guys like Mike Shanahan and Mike Holmgren.

And if he does finally get that coveted gold jacket, only one question remains: Will he throw a bigger celebration party than Jerry Jones?