SAN FRANCISCO — One of the most controversial storylines in the run-up to Super Bowl LX week has been the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s preposterous snub of Bill Belichick and Bob Kraft.
Despite the duo winning six Super Bowls with the Patriots, neither the coach nor the owner appears to have received enough votes from HOF voters to join the 2026 class on their first ballot.
In an interview with Front Office Sports on Radio Row, Rob Gronkowski blasted the “ridiculous” decision by the HOF, noting: “Coach Belichick needs to be in the Hall of Fame, and it needed to be a first ballot. Now there’s no such thing as a first-ballot Hall of Fame coach. No other coach ever in history should go first ballot.”
Still, the die is cast. There’s no going back. The ongoing Belichick/Kraft drama raises a once-unthinkable question: Could seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady also be denied in his first year of eligibility in 2028?
On the surface, it seems absurd. The three-time NFL MVP is the league’s all-time leader in touchdown passes (649) and passing yards (89,214). Brady’s the only player in NFL history to win five Super Bowl MVP awards.
But nobody thought it was possible for HOF voters to reject Belichick and Kraft either. Especially when they can hide behind the anonymity of their secret ballot.
On Wednesday, we spoke to analyst Mina Kimes of ESPN’s NFL Live on Radio Row. Even with the Brady and Belichick decision, she’s confident Brady’s a first-ballot lock.
“Imagine being the guy who doesn’t vote for Tom Brady,” Kimes said. “It’s ludicrous. So I think he’ll be fine.”
During NBC’s media day, Mike Florio predicted the Belichick controversy will help, not hurt, Brady’s first-ballot chances.
“After the blowback to Belichick not getting in, they’re not going to keep Tom Brady out,” said the founder and editor-in-chief of ProFootballTalk. “I hope they’ve learned the lesson about guys who are clear, no-brainer, first-ballot Hall of Famers. They better make damn sure that they get in. They don’t need this. I know Jerry Jones would say any publicity is good publicity. This is not good publicity. This had made the Hall of Fame and everyone connected to it look bad. To the point that the voters who voted [for Belichick] are upset. Because their attitude is: We’re getting blamed. We voted for him. Don’t blame us.”
Across town on ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith said “you might as well burn” down Canton if Brady’s turned away in his first year of eligibility.
“If you can’t have Tom Brady up in there as a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the credibility of the institution that is the Hall of Fame goes right out the freaking window. It’s over. We understand that, right?” Smith said.
Brady himself joked about the possibility during an interview with Colin Cowherd on Tuesday.
“Maybe it’s not trending so well for ex-Patriots. Maybe I should be a little concerned here? But I think at some point this thing is going to go in everybody’s direction the right way,” he said.
