NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
With Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft both failing to make the first ballot into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith got to thinking: What happens when Tom Brady can be voted in?
The legendary quarterback, who spent two decades leading a dynasty with the New England Patriots, has all-time NFL records and seven Super Bowl rings to boot. If there’s anyone fit to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, it’s Brady.
But that was until Belichick, his head coach in New England, shockingly missed his trip to Canton on his first ballot. Waves of dissatisfaction with the Hall of Fame rolled in, and the conversation gained momentum during Super Bowl week, where the Patriots find themselves in the big game because Kraft didn’t get enough votes either.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
(L to R) Tom Brady and Stephen A. Smith speak on stage at Fanatics Fest NYC 2024 at the Jacob Javits Center on August 16, 2024 in New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
Smith appeared on ESPN’s “First Take” to ask his fellow panelists a question.
“What are you going to do next? You’re going to disown Tom Brady? You’re going to disown Tom Brady? You’re going to look at Tom Brady and say, ‘You’re not going to the Hall of Fame?'” Smith told the group.
“Might as well burn the building down if that happens – there’s no Hall of Fame. If you can’t get Tom Brady as a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the credibility of the institution that is the Hall of Fame goes out the window. It’s over. We understand that, don’t we?”
PATRIOTES’ ROBERT KRAFT MISSES PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME: REPORTS
Smith also spoke about Kraft’s absence, as he was also part of the now-infamous five-man group that included senior prospects — LC Greenwood, Roger Craig and Ken Anderson — and Belichick. Voters were only allowed to elect three of the candidates for the Hall this year, leading some voters to choose seniors because of their potential last chance to reach Canton.
“I wasn’t surprised, I was appalled,” Smith said of the Kraft news released Tuesday. “Obviously, he deserves to be a Hall of Famer. He’s been the owner for 32 years. In 32 years, he’s played 13 more regular season games, 13 more playoff games than any other team in the NFL for playing out loud. This is a man who won 20 division titles in 32 seasons. He’s a man who, during his 32-year reign as owner, went to the Super Bowl with three different quarterback-coaches combinations Bill Parcells and Drew Bledsoe, Belichick with Brady, and now. [Mike] Vrabel with Drake Maye. He’s the man at the helm.
Fox Sports analyst Tom Brady arrives at the stadium before an NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on September 14, 2025. (Scott Winters/Sportswire Icon via Getty Images)
“We all know it’s egregious, we all know it’s absolutely disgusting. The Hall of Fame should be the ‘Hall of Shame’. They’ve belittled and diluted their own product, and they don’t even know yet how badly they’ve done it.”
Smith doesn’t want the “trend” to continue with Brady, but he is linked to the Patriots years where scandals like Spygate and Deflategate, which would have made their way into the election debate for Belichick, and perhaps for Kraft as well.
“Let’s take Spygate, let’s take Deflategate, let’s take all of that. What coach would say that Bill Belichick doesn’t deserve to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer? Nobody. What owner would say that Robert Kraft doesn’t deserve to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer? Nobody,” Smith added.
Fox broadcaster Tom Brady is seen before the game between the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on December 14, 2025. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
“You couldn’t find a player in Pop Warner who would tell you that Tom Brady doesn’t deserve to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, much less in high school, college or the pros. There is no athlete in any sport on the planet, in America or in the world, who would tell you that Tom Brady isn’t a first-ballot Hall of Famer.”
Modern-era candidates are eligible for the Hall of Fame five years after retirement, meaning Brady won’t be eligible to be elected to Canton until 2028. However, that’s still a pretty tight time frame.
