To date, there are just 18 team owners enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame – with five of those 18 individuals also having served as founders for either the NFL or AFL. Of those 18, aside for the inaugural Hall of Fame class, just eight were inducted as active owners.
Not included in that list is Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Kraft has been a finalist on multiple occasions, but despite his contributions to the league has not yet been enshrined in Canton. Could this be the year that changes?
On Wednesday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Senior Committee announced its list of 60 semifinalists in the ‘senior’ coaches’ and contributor’ categories. Kraft is among the 29 individuals in the contributor category.
A Patriots season ticket holder since 1971, Kraft originally purchased the old Foxborough Stadium in 1988. After spending the next six years playing a key role in preventing the Patriots from leaving New England, in 1994 he bought the franchise itself for a then-record $172 million. In 2002, he financed the new stadium that became Gillette Stadium, a then-$325 million project.
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The team has seen unprecedented success under Kraft’s ownership. They reached the Super Bowl in his fourth year of ownership in 1997, just the second Super Bowl appearance in the then 37-year history of the franchise. Three years later, he hired Bill Belichick away from a division rival in the New York Jets, a move that kicked off a generational two-decade run that included nine more Super Bowl appearances with six championships.
In addition to what he’s done with the Patriots, Kraft has also been a major player in league-wide politics during his time as owner. He’s served on multiple league committees including the committees for finance, compensation, and chairing the media committee. In 2011, he played a key role in ending a lockout that began threatening the season, with Colts center Jeff Saturday later referring to him as “a man who helped us save football.”
The next step for Kraft will come in a few weeks. The committee will trim the list of 29 contributors to 12 on July 27. Then on Aug. 15 one individual from the list will be chosen for final consideration with the overall Class of 2024.
Kraft wasn’t the only member of the Patriots’ organization included on the semifinalists list. Two other names familiar to Patriots fans are up for induction as well…
WR Stanley Morgan
BUFFALO, NY – 1989: Wide receiver Stanley Morgan #86 of the New England Patriots runs on the field during a 1989 NFL game against the Buffalo Bills at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, New York. The Bills defeated the Pats 31-10. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
Morgan played 13 of his 14 NFL seasons in New England after being drafted by the Patriots in the first round in 1977. He still holds the NFL record for the most yards per reception by a player with at least 500 career catches, at 19.2 yards per catch.
Morgan is still the Patriots’ all-time leader in career receiving yards, with 10,352 in 180 career games. No player has gotten within 2,000 yards of his mark – Rob Gronkowski is second among all players with 7,861 yards while Wes Welker has the second-most by a wide receiver with 7,459. Morgan was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2007.
