Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame voters should be holding some grudge in opposition to the New England Patriots.
Final week, the HOF snubbed former Patriots head coach Invoice Belichick in his first yr on the poll. New England proprietor Robert Kraft will not be making a visit to Canton, both. On Tuesday, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported Kraft did not obtain the 40 votes wanted to make the HOF. The HOF Choice Committee consists of 50 voters.
The remainder of the category will probably be revealed on the NFL Honors on Thursday. After the snubs of the proprietor and his former coach, ex-Patriots/Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady joked he isn’t so positive he’ll be chosen to the HOF when he turns into eligible in 2028.
Tom Brady reacts to Robert Kraft, Invoice Belichick HOF snubs
“To me it is not a matter of if they will get in, it is only a matter of when they will get in,” Brady said Tuesday on FS1’s “The Herd.” “They’re great at what they’ve finished within the league. Perhaps it is not trending so properly for ex-Patriots. Perhaps I must be a bit involved right here. I believe, sooner or later, this factor goes to go in everybody’s route the precise manner.”
Seven-time Tremendous Bowl champion Brady ought to make the HOF on his first poll. Properly, except voters maintain Spygate and Deflategate in opposition to him as they did in Belichick’s case, however do not count on that to occur.
Kraft, nevertheless, will now have to attend for even longer. The 84-year-old proprietor has been eligible for the HOF since 2013 however was a first-time finalist this yr.
Many could credit score the Patriots’ success within the 2000s and 2010s to Brady, and rightfully so. However let’s not overlook Kraft’s contributions. With out him, the QB does not have six of his Tremendous Bowl rings.
Kraft turned the Patriots from a league doormat right into a mannequin group. In 32 seasons below his possession, the Patriots have made 11 Tremendous Bowls (two with out Brady). Earlier than Kraft arrived in 1994, the Patriots had reached “The Huge Recreation” simply as soon as (a 46-10 loss to the Chicago Bears in Tremendous Bowl XX in New Orleans).
The Patriots face the Seattle Seahawks in Tremendous Bowl LX on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, at 6:30 p.m. ET (NBC/Peacock). Kraft’s now specializing in profitable that recreation after the HOF snub.
“What issues to me is we win Sunday,” Kraft told CNBC’s “Squawk Field” forward of the Tremendous Bowl (h/t Schefter). “That is a operate of how the crew we’re invested in and manage is [judged].”
If the Patriots win Sunday, that may further smudge the HOF’s status. A New England win would spotlight one other key determine for a prestigious franchise would not be within the Mecca of Soccer, the place he clearly belongs.
