Belichick not selected as first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame choice

Bill Belichick won’t be headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

The former New England Patriots head coach, who won a record six Super Bowls in his 24-year tenure with the organization, was not selected for the Hall of Fame’s 2026 class, ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. reported Jan. 27.

Belichick was the singular finalist in the coaching category, but he did not receive the necessary 40 of 50 votes to make the cut, according to the report.

News of the vote sent waves of shock across the NFL world, with current and former players sharing disbelief that Belichick isn’t expected to be a first-ballot inductee.

‘I can’t be reading this right,’ former NFL All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt said on X. ‘This has to be some knock-off Hall of Fame or something, it can’t be the actual NFL Hall of Fame. There is not a single world whatsoever in which Bill Belichick should not be a First-Ballot Hall of Famer.’

The Pro Football Hall of Fame released a statement following the ESPN report, saying it ‘does not comment on the voting of the Selection Committee and awaits the unveiling of the Class of 2026 at ‘NFL Honors’ on Feb. 5 in San Francisco.’

With 333 career victories including the postseason, Belichick is just 14 shy of Don Shula’s all-time record.

Belichick, 73, parted ways with the Patriots after the 2023 season and last year became the head coach at the University of North Carolina.

In 2024, the Hall of Fame revised its rules to reduce the waiting period for coaches to be enshrined from five years after holding their last position to one. Many interpreted this as putting Belichick on the fast track to Canton. Instead, he’ll have to wait until at least 2027.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft, whom Belichick coached under and clashed with repeatedly, is a finalist for the first time in the contributor category. ESPN said it was not known whether Kraft received the votes necessary for inclusion in the 2026 class.

The full Hall of Fame class will be revealed on Feb. 5 at the NFL Honors ceremony in San Francisco.