Robert Kraft, Jewish philanthropist and Patriots owner, is US football Hall of Fame finalist

Robert Kraft, the Jewish philanthropist and owner of the New England Patriots, is named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.

Kraft, 84, who has owned the Patriots since 1994, is the lone finalist in the contributor category. It is his first time making it this far in the voting process.

He is nominated alongside Bill Belichick, 73, who guided the Patriots to six Super Bowl championships. Belichick is the finalist in the coaching category, in his first year of eligibility.

Two different nine-member committees selected Belichick and Kraft for consideration by Hall of Fame voters next month. They need to receive 80 percent of the vote from the full selection committee to be enshrined next summer in Canton, Ohio.

Side-by-side inductions would undoubtedly make for good theater, as Kraft and Belichick have had a falling out since the end of their glory days. They officially parted ways in January 2024 after Belichick set a franchise record with 266 wins over 24 seasons.

According to ESPN sources, Belichick is believed to be a favorite for induction while Kraft’s fate is more uncertain.

All five finalists named Wednesday will be competing directly against each other, as committee members can only vote for three of the five total finalists. A maximum of three can be elected.

Kraft’s Patriots have been to 10 Super Bowls. The team he paid $172 million for in 1994 is now worth an estimated $9.25 billion.

He has donated to a wide variety of Jewish causes, including Jewish student life, fighting antisemitism and American football in Israel. In 2019, he won the Genesis Prize, known colloquially as the “Jewish Nobel.”