Patriots owner Robert Kraft feels disrespected by Jerry Jones’ Hall of Fame induction.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft held nothing back regarding Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ Hall-of-Fame induction.
“He hasn’t been to the NFC title game in two decades and he gets in?” Kraft told a confidant via ESPN. “How does that work?”
Kraft has searched for his ticket to Canton for quite some time. He and former San Fransisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren were the semi-finalists for the hall-of-fame class of 2024. Although Kraft didn’t make it, Jones made it to Canton in 2017, which rubbed Kraft the wrong way.
The Patriots owner has a fair point when comparing his resume to Jones’s. The Cowboys made six consecutive playoff appearances and won five NFC East titles and three Super Bowls from 1991 to 1996. However, the Cowboys haven’t been to a Super Bowl or even an NFC Championship game since the 1995 season.
What is holding Patriots owner Robert Kraft back?
Kraft has seemed to make just about every right decision as an owner. Hiring the perfect coach, drafting the perfect quarterback, and building a dynasty. He seemed to be Jones before the Cowboys owner took over. New England reached the Super Bowl for the first time in 1996, marking the first time in 11 years. Kraft traded for former head coach Bill Belichick and helped draft franchise quarterback Tom Brady. That duo went on to win six Super Bowl titles from 2001 to 2018.
However, the infamous deflate-gate scandal appeared after the Patriots’ Super Bowl XLIX win over the Seattle Seahawks. Also, Kraft was involved in a prostitution ring in Florida, where he was captured on video paying for sex acts at a day spa. Regardless of the scandals, Kraft’s successful resume speaks for itself.
Former rival and Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Polian knew Kraft all too well. The Patriots and Colts had one of the most heated rivalries in the AFC, as well as the entire NFL. Even with the tension between franchises, both always paid their respects to one another. Polian thinks it’s absurd that Kraft hasn’t been enshrined in Canton. He’s vouched twice for the Patriots owner to get his flowers in Canton.“There’s no box that Bob Kraft doesn’t check to get into the Hall of Fame,” Polian, said. “When he didn’t get in last year, I lost sleep over it. I’m still sick at heart about it.”
With the new rules separating coaches and contributors for consideration, it should make Kraft’s path to Canton easier and finally enshrined.