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Patriots owner Robert Kraft named a semifinalist for 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class
Kraft has never made it past the semifinal round. He is, once again, up for consideration.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft has advanced to the semifinal round of the selection process for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.
Kraft made the cut in the contributor category, which trimmed its list from 21 names down to nine on Thursday.
The selection committee is scheduled to discuss the semifinalists during a virtual meeting on Nov. 11. One finalist in the contributor category will be presented at the selection committee’s annual meeting before the Super Bowl. The finalists will be announced in February and enshrined in August.
Kraft, 84, has had his candidacy evaluated by the committee 13 times. He has never made it past the semifinal round. Last year, ESPN reported that several unnamed voters were “surprised” that Kraft was not named a finalist in 2024.
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Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick has been named a semifinalist in the coach category, leaving open the possibility that they both could be inducted in the same year if the committee changes its mind on Kraft.
Here are the eight contributors that Kraft is up against this year:
Bud Adams: Adams owned the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise for 54 years, winning a pair of AFL titles in the early 1960s. He was an original charter member of the AFL, which eventually merged with the NFL in 1970.
Roone Arledge: The former president of ABC News was a 37-time Emmy-winner and the 2001 recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Pete Rozell Radio-Television award, which is given for exceptional contributions to radio and television.
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Ralph Hay: The former Canton Bulldogs owner won a pair of NFL championships and is one of the league’s co-founders.
Frank “Bucko” Kilroy: The former Patriots vice president played 13 seasons in the NFL before moving up the rankings in football operations. He spent his early years as a scout before becoming general manager, and later vice president, of the Patriots.
Art Rooney Jr.: The son of Steelers founder Art Rooney has been vice president of the team since 1987 and employed by the franchise since 1961 in various roles. Pittsburgh won six Super Bowls during that time.
Clark Shaugnessy: The former Rams coach is credited with modernizing the “T” fomarmation, along with adding other innovative wrinkles to the game.
Seymour Siwoff: Siwoff was the longtime president of the Elias Sports Bureau, the company that is the official statistics provider of the NFL.
Buddy Young: The 1954 Pro Bowler had his number retired by the Colts and became the first Black executive for a major sports league when the NFL hired him in 1964.
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