Bill Belichick's snub from the Pro
Football Hall of Fame is criticized by voters and NFL fans
[January 29, 2026]
By ROB MAADDI
Bill Belichick won six Lombardi Trophies as a head coach with the
Patriots, two as an assistant with the Giants and has more Super
Bowl rings than anyone in NFL history.
Yet somehow he’s not a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Belichick didn’t get the required votes in his first year of
eligibility, according to a report from ESPN on Tuesday that cited
four unidentified sources.
Belichick needed 40 votes from the 50-person panel of media members
and other Hall of Famers.
News of the snub stunned players, coaches, fans and anyone who has
watched football.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes called it “insane.”
NBA superstar LeBron James said it’s “impossible, egregious, and
quite frankly disrespectful.”
If Belichick’s resume isn’t worthy of a gold jacket and bronze
statue, what constitutes a Hall of Fame career?
“Whatever perceptions may exist about any personal differences
between Bill and me, I strongly believe Bill Belichick’s record and
body of work speak for themselves," Patriots owner Robert Kraft said
in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
"As head coach of the New England Patriots for more than two
decades, he set the standard for on-field excellence, preparation,
and sustained success in the free agency and salary cap era of the
National Football League. He is the greatest coach of all time and
he unequivocally deserves to be a unanimous first-ballot Pro
Football Hall of Famer.”
Kraft and Belichick are two of five finalists among coaches,
contributors and senior players who last appeared in a game in 2000
or earlier. Roger Craig, Ken Anderson and L.C. Greenwood are the
players.
Between one and three of those finalists will be inducted into the
Hall along with between three and five modern era players from a
group of 15 finalists.
The Hall of Fame declined to comment before its class of 2026 is
announced at NFL Honors in San Francisco on Feb. 5. Several voters
immediately revealed they voted for Belichick and some called for
those who didn’t to publicly say it.
Armando Salguero, OutKick’s Senior NFL Writer and Hall of Fame
voter, was the one who presented Belichick in the Hall’s
subcommittee meeting that selected him to advance to the full
50-member selection body. Salguero then presented Belichick to the
full selector’s committee in a meeting on Jan. 13.
He is among the voters who selected Belichick and are urging the
others to reveal themselves.
“They should identify themselves as the people who kept Belichick
out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year,” Salguero wrote in
his column. “I am saying that here, and would say as much to their
face. Their votes sunk Belichick’s chances and embarrassed the Hall
of Fame in the process.
“They make all selectors look bad, and they shouldn’t hide behind
their minority vote to protect themselves at the expense of the
wider group. I know it’s a wider group because I’ve spoken with a
lot of selectors since our meeting, and they agreed with my vote for
Belichick.”
Salguero, who is a longtime voter for the AP All-Pro team and the AP
NFL awards, said the “Spygate” scandal kept Belichick out of the
Hall. There is no morality or character criteria for voters to
consider.
Belichick was implicated in a sign-stealing scheme during the 2007
season and was fined $500,000 after New England was caught filming
defensive signals from the New York Jets during a game.
[to top of second column] |
North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick walks on the field before
an NCAA college football game against Syracuse, Oct. 31, 2025, in
Syracuse, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus, File)
“Spygate was the reason several selectors could not
bring themselves to vote for Belichick, because they felt it sullied
his records,” Salguero wrote.
In his presentation, Salguero said he pointed out that Belichick had
a higher winning percentage (.693 to .580) after “Spygate” and won
three Super Bowls and six conference titles. He had 14 double-digit
win seasons and won more regular-season games after “Spygate” than
22 of the 28 coaches in the Hall of Fame.
“Those facts may have changed some minds on Belichick. But it didn’t
change enough of them,” Salguero wrote.
The process for selection changed in 2025. The 50 voters now each
pick three of the five and between one to three make it if they get
at least 40 votes. A new rule also made coaches eligible one year
after retiring instead of five.
Belichick sat out one season after his 24-year tenure with the
Patriots ended in 2023. He just finished his first year coaching in
college at North Carolina, where he went 4-8.
Belichick has not commented publicly on the reported vote outcome.
UNC executive associate athletic director Steve Newmark — a former
NASCAR executive who is designated to take over as the school’s AD
later this year — posted a statement on X expressing support for
Belichick.
“It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Bill Belichick is not a
first-ballot selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Newmark
said in the post. “The greatest coaching resume in NFL history
speaks for itself, and we are fortunate to have Coach Belichick
leading our team.”
Mike Sando, an NFL writer for The Athletic, said he voted for
Belichick and explained the process that could’ve led to the snub.
“Whatever the case, I would see this as a repudiation of the new
voting rules implemented for 2025, not of Belichick or any candidate
not making it,” Sando wrote on X.
The 73-year-old Belichick was a top defensive assistant coach with
Giants under Bill Parcells. He left New York to coach Cleveland from
1991-95, joined the Patriots as an assistant in 1996, spent three
seasons with the Jets and was hired by New England in 2000.
He led the Patriots with Tom Brady to six Super Bowl wins in nine
appearances and had one 16-0 regular season. Belichick’s 333 wins in
the regular season and playoffs with New England and Cleveland are
the second most to Don Shula’s 347. He won AP NFL Coach of the Year
three times.
“Just for the record: I voted for Belichick and am stunned — and
embarrassed for our selection committee,” USA Today NFL columnist
Jarrett Bell wrote on X. “At least 11 people from the 50-member
panel voted against BB. At the very least they should reveal
themselves as this begs for transparency. Don’t lump us all
together.”
___
AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow and AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard
and Kyle Hightower contributed to this report.
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