Robert Kraft and supporters have twisted their brains like pretzels trying to figure out why the New England Patriots owner still hasn’t been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
It was even more confusing seeing Kraft’s longtime archrival, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, get inducted in 2017.
“He hasn’t been to the NFC title game in two decades and he gets in?” Kraft told a confidant, via Don Van Natta Jr. in a recent ESPN report. “How does that work?”
Kraft has a point.
The Patriots won six Super Bowls in less than two decades under his watch, while the Cowboys haven’t even been to a Super Bowl since 1995.
There was an explanation given to Kraft and Patriots PR chief Stacey James by Hall of Fame voter Jason Cole, per the report. Kraft didn’t seem to buy the answer considering he laughed after hearing it.
Van Natta Jr. wrote:
A few minutes into the conversation, Kraft asked Cole: “How did Jerry Jones manage to get into the Hall of Fame?”
“He’s P.T. Barnum,” Cole said he replied, echoing a sentiment he said he previously had expressed when James called seeking an explanation. “He’s the greatest marketer in the history of the sport.” Cole recalled that Kraft just laughed.
One has to think Kraft will eventually get into the Hall of Fame. He’s probably hoping it happens sooner rather than later considering he’s 83 years old.
Regardless, it’s hard to understand how an owner overseeing the greatest dynasty in NFL history is somehow left out in the cold of the league’s most prestigious honor.