FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Count New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft among those shocked that Bill Belichick reportedly will not be selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
In a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday, Kraft said he believes Belichick's accomplishments are clearly worthy of selection for the Hall on his first ballot.
“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," Kraft said in the statement.
Citing four unidentified sources, ESPN reported Tuesday that Belichick didn’t receive the necessary 40 votes from the 50-person panel of media members and other Hall of Famers. ESPN said Belichick received a call from the Hall of Fame last Friday with the news.
The Hall of Fame declined to comment before its class of 2026 is announced at NFL Honors in San Francisco on Feb. 5.
"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,” Kraft said. “He is the greatest coach of all time and he unequivocally deserves to be a unanimous first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer.”
Reaction to Belichick's reported omission from this year's class came swiftly from around the NFL world, with many criticizing the selection committee. The list included Hall voters and Tom Brady, who was the quarterback for all six of Belichick's Super Bowl wins in New England. In an interview Wednesday with Seattle Sports 710-AM, Brady said Belichick not getting voted in this year was “ridiculous.”
“I don’t understand it," Brady said. "If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, which is completely ridiculous because people deserve it.”
Players must be retired for at least five years before becoming eligible for inclusion in the hall. Coaches have to be retired for only one full season.
Belichick was hired by New England in 2000 and led the franchise to six Super Bowl wins and three other appearances in the title game during an 18-year span from 2001-18. 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.
But he went 29-38 in his final four seasons with the Patriots following the departure of Brady, who joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Belichick and the Patriots agreed to mutually part ways following the 2023 season.
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FILE - New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy as he celebrates the Patriots' victory over the Seattle Seahawks in NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game Feb. 1, 2015, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft watches warm ups prior to the AFC Championship NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mixed Thursday as a wait-and-see attitude dominated in regional markets following the Federal Reserve's decision to keep its key interest rate unchanged.
That was expected, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell said interest rates look to be “in a good place” for now.
Gold jumped another 2%, trading at $5,543 per ounce. The dollar weakened against the Japanese yen and oil prices rose.
France's CAC 40 rose nearly 1.0% in early trading to 8,142.92, while Germany's DAX shed 0.3% to 24,748.68. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.6% to 10,217.86. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up nearly 0.1% to 49,207.00. S&P 500 futures edged up 0.3% to 7,026.00.
In Asia, gains for some technology companies reporting strong earnings failed to give shares in Tokyo much of a lift as the Nikkei 225 rose less than 0.1% to 53,375.60.
Computer chip testing equipment maker Advantest surged 5.2% after it reported stronger than anticipated earnings. Some tech company shares, like Panasonic Holdings, fell, while others rose, like chips maker Kioxia Holdings Corp. and Sony Corp.
Earnings season is getting into full gear, with major Japanese companies like Toyota Motor Corp., Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co. due to report their earnings next week.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi surged 1.0% to 5,221.25, hitting a fresh record as computer chip maker SK Hynix picked up 2.4% on a strong earnings report.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.5% to 27,968.09, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.2% to 4,157.98.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed nearly 0.1% to 8,927.50.
In Jakarta, the JSX sank 1.9%, following a decline after the MSCI, a U.S. provider of global equity, fixed income and real estate indices, warned about market risks in Indonesia.
In the foreign-exchange market, the U.S. dollar stabilized after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview on CNBC that the U.S. government is not intervening in the currency market and continues to want a “strong dollar.”
The dollar fell to 153.26 Japanese yen from 153.42 yen. The euro cost $1.1977, up from $1.1955.
“From Washington’s side, a slightly firmer yen is convenient for domestic manufacturing concerns. From Tokyo’s side, even symbolic Fed acknowledgement buys time and credibility,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said in a commentary.
The Fed cut rates several times last year to try to shore up the job market, but inflation remains stubbornly above its 2% target. Lower interest rates could worsen inflation while giving the economy a boost. Lower rates could also further undercut the U.S. dollar’s value, which would help U.S. exporters. Trump has been pushing aggressively for lower rates.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained 92 cents to $64.13 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 88 cents to $69.28 a barrel.
Associated Press Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Shanghai, Nikkei and New York Dow indexes at a securities firm Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A man stands near an electronic board displaying stock prices and Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index, at the Indonesia Stock Exchange in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
A man walks past an electronic board displaying stock prices and Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index, at the Indonesia Stock Exchange in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
