Robert Kraft is once again a semifinalist for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This time around, though, he's getting support from a major player.

Tom Brady made the case for the New England Patriots owner to be inducted just over a week after he was picked as one of the 12 semifinalists in the coach/contributor category. In an interview with MassLive's Karen Guregian, Brady called Kraft's candidacy a “no-brainer” for an induction, adding, “I want this bad for him because he deserves it,” before making the case for his former boss.

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“When it comes to the league, nobody, in my opinion, has contributed – since I’ve been in the league – the way he has,” Brady said. “As an owner on all the important committees, he successfully navigated multiple labor agreements. I know in the 2011 agreement, he was instrumental in the success of it.”
“I remember that picture of him and Jeff Saturday, with their arms around each other, bringing everyone back to football, which was great. You can care about that on a team level, but you can also look at that from a league level.”

The image Brady is talking about came in the first press conference following the agreement of a new collective bargaining deal in 2011, which occurred shortly after Kraft's wife passed away.

Brady made Kraft's case to Guregian while out on safari with his daughter in Africa, continuing to list other achievements of his, like negotiating record TV deals for the NFL.

Of course, Kraft's biggest NFL achievement is what he's been able to do with the Patriots. New England has won six Super Bowl titles since he became the owner in 1994, helping the Patriots tie the record for the most Super Bowls won by a franchise just during his time as owner alone.

Brady gave Kraft credit for hiring Bill Belichick in 2000, which required giving up a first-round pick to the New York Jets at the time.

“He realized how talented of a coach [Belichick] was, and had the foresight and conviction to give up picks … that’s a lot to give up for anyone, but he was so sure that Bill was the right coach, he went for it,” Brady said. “And amongst everything else, that speaks for itself.”

In addition, Brady praised Kraft's accountability and commitment, noting how he has an office at the team facility to make himself available to players in staff when need be.

As Brady credited Kraft for helping to “set a culture” that set up the Patriots' success, he wants to see his old boss get rewarded the same way he rewarded the players after each of their Super Bowl wins.

“He rewarded us as players when we won and were successful. Every time we were able to open up one of those boxes to unveil a Super Bowl ring, it blew all of our minds away,” Brady said. “He put so much time and energy into everything he did. He brought a culture of winning and class to our organization. And then in some ways continued to move on to bigger things in the league with the massive revenues that have come in.”

The coach/contributor committee members will pick one person out of the 12 semifinalists on Aug. 15 for final consideration for the 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.