What will it take to separate New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft from Spygate for an induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? That's a question ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. attempted to answer while speaking with over a dozen people involved with the Hall of Fame process and why they opposed Kraft. Head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots spearheaded the Spygate scandal, where Belichick and his coaching staff videotaped signals from the opposing coaches of the New York Jets in 2007.

After Kraft congratulated Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo for his first win following the Patriots' 16-10 season-opening upset victory against the Cincinnati Bengals in Mayo's first NFL game as head coach, ESPN focused on Kraft's 12-year quest to join the 16 owners among the 378 men enshrined in the Hall.

“A handful do most of the talking in these meetings,” one veteran Hall of Fame voter said. “Some are silent assassins.”

Lobbying, which voters say has become more aggressive in recent years, starts months before a candidate's first consideration. Then, in August or September, committees determine whether players or “coaches and contributors” are worthy of consideration by the full 50 members in January.

A sponsoring voter will speak on a candidate's behalf at the subcommittee level for five minutes, which can sometimes lead to a lengthy debate; other times, little is said. Last year, a voter offered a passionate argument supporting Kraft, while another listened to both sides of the debate and did not partake before voting for someone else.

“Part of the problem when it comes to assessing Kraft and the entire Patriots dynasty is factoring in several well-known controversies,” Van Natta Jr. said. “A half dozen voters said evolving truths around incidents such as Spygate, Deflategate, and Orchids of Asia cloud the team's greatness. Kraft's biggest hurdle among voters seems to be Spygate.”

For Spygate, Belichick was fined $500,000, and the NFL fined the Patriots $250,000. The Patriots also forfeited a first-round draft pick.

Robert Kraft's 30 years with the Patriots

Patriots owner Robert Kraft before the game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the New England Patriots at Paycor Stadium.
Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
The small group of voters against Robert Kraft's entry into the Hall of Fame continues to look past his six Super Bowl titles during his 30-plus-year regime with the New England Patriots — some of whom question Kraft's involvement in the Patriots' Spygate scandal.
“Some voters believe he was part of the biggest cheating scandal in NFL history,” a veteran Hall voter said, per ESPN. “That's a very tough one to overcome.” While another voter said, “Kraft has distanced himself from Spygate, but it did come up — it has to be considered.”
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Others pointed out that Goodell ordered the NFL general counsel to destroy the Spygate tapes in a Gillette Stadium conference room in September 2007. Goodell did not request a thorough investigation. “It's the elephant in the room,” one voter said. Kraft's two visits to the Orchids of Asia massage parlor were also factors for other voters, even though prosecutors eventually dropped the charges.
Other voters don't care and say it shouldn't matter — Kraft is long overdue for his gold jacket. “These are misdemeanors,” one voter said, “bad judgment misdemeanors.”
While another agrees there should be some leeway for Kraft.
“We probably need to put a little distance between the massage parlor and the Hall of Fame,” a voter recalled.
Kraft denied knowing anything about Spygate and condemned Belichick for it. Despite the Dallas Cowboys' lack of Super Bowl success over the past three decades, Kraft reacted to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' Hall of Fame induction.