For 20 plus years Patriots owner Robert Kraft presided over the NFL’s model franchise. Nine trips to the Super Bowl, 6 Lombardi Trophies and 13 AFC Championship appearances.
But the last couple years have been, according to Kraft, “the worst two years of our ownership.”
He’s not wrong. The Patriots are on their 3rd head coach in 3 seasons and are coming off back to 4 and 13 campaigns.
Kraft was asked by reporters during his annual NFL Owners Meetings media session at the Breakers hotel in Palm Beach, Fla., what he would consider a successful 2025 season for the Patriots. His answer was simple.
“If we make the playoffs,” Kraft replied.
“The last two years have been really, really difficult — the worst two years of our ownership,” Kraft continued. “So, we tried to create the foundation of a new beginning, and I’m pretty excited about what we have.”
Kraft spoke for 20 minutes on all Patriots topics including his willingness to spend as owner, another scathing NFLPA survey, the team’s ownership succession plan and much more. Here are some of the highlights from Tuesday’s session.
NFL Draft Plans
Kraft acknowledged that the Patriots are where they are right now as an organization because they have drafted poorly over the past few seasons. That’s changed some, particularly in the first round with Drake Maye last year and Christian Gonzalez the year prior. But still, the Patriots need more hits than misses.
“I hope that we’re never drafting No. 4 again in my lifetime. But today, it’s a great opportunity, and in the end, if you want to build a team that is going to win and sustain winning, you have to have good drafts. Unfortunately, over the last few years, we have not done a good job in that area. I think the organization has reshuffled how we do things, on priorities and how we value it. And I hope we start to see the impact of that over the next couple of years.
“We’ve always had a strong defense,” Kraft continued. “And I think that any of us that are fans of the team know we want to try to strengthen the offense a little on the line, in the receiver area, maybe a speed running back. But I’m talking as a fan. I have confidence that this group is all on the same page and the most important thing is everyone is putting team first. In this business, you can’t have little groupings who have their own ideas. The fact that it’s starting fresh and everyone expressed how they feel, it’s been very exciting for me.”
NFLPA Survey
Kraft was asked about the the team’s low marks in the NFLPA report card survey last season where they ranked second to last in the league. This was the second straight year the Patriots received very low marks on the survey which Kraft referred to as “eye opening.”
“It was an eye-opener for me and then I put it in context,” Kraft told reporters Tuesday. “Going through these last two years and the way things were and the culture was there, it really opened my eyes in a way because we think we’re bonding and we have things, but it just was not a good environment. And we want to do everything we can to make this one of the best places you can go.
“I think we had that for quite a while in terms of winning and people wanting to come here,” Kraft added. “The last couple of years changed it. Now it’s management and ownership’s job to do everything they can to create the culture that this is a place people want to come to. I really believe it’s happening and now we have to produce on the field. People have to want to come be in this environment, and we’re trying to do the different things we can to make that happen.”
Ashtrays on the Plane?
Another thing that popped up on the Player survey was criticism over the Patriots team planes being old, small, dated, not having Wi-Fi, and having ashtrays in the armrests.
Kraft acknowledged that the Planes needed upgrades but vehemently denied the part about ashtrays.
“First of all, let me just correct — there are no ash trays on the plane. That goes back 30 years ago,” said Kraft. “Has anyone gone on a plane with ashtrays? There are no ashtrays and I’m willing to take a bet with anyone who says that.
“We bought those planes to make it easier for our team to travel. It was very hard pre-COVID to get planes. We’re in the process of trying to update and improve that,” Kraft continued. “We want everything we do to be top of the heap and first class. Rather than having to go out and charter and everything, we wanted to control. We’ve let the planes be used by different charities. They’ve done a lot of good, but they do need an upgrade.”
Willingness to Spend
A knock on Kraft, justified or not is that he has been unwilling to spend big bucks to improve the team. The numbers back it up as the Patriots have been 32nd in cash spending over the previous 10 years. A notion Kraft has and continues to push back on.
“Just to correct something. There’s never been a case in 31 years where people have come to us to spend and we’ve said no. never one time,” Kraft said. “We’ve always been willing to spend. When we do it, we want people to feel they’ve done their homework and feel confident that we’re doing it and improving. Most people would say given coach’s experience and what we’ve done on defense and his knowledge of that area and the personnel that we’ve improved greatly and I think that’s so. I know I don’t know, but I’m excited. We’ve always had a strong defense and I think that any of us that are fans of the team know we want to try to strengthen the offense a little on the line, in the receiver area, maybe a speed running back. But I’m talking as a fan. I have confidence that this group is all on the same page and the most important thing is everyone is putting team first. In this business, you can’t have little groupings who have their own ideas. The fact that it’s starting fresh and everyone expressed how they feel, it’s been very exciting for me.”
Kraft’s Succession Plan
Kraft, now 83 years old, was asked how much longer he planned to serves as the face of the organization. He seemed surprised by the question but said that a succession plan does exist,
asked about a succession plan. After saying “I think I’m 35,” Kraft gave some insight into what a plan might look like.
“Are you telling me what [to do]? First of all, I think I’m 35. And you all will laugh when I say it. You know, in life, look, I was a little kid sitting on one of those benches dreaming about owning this team and bringing a winning culture here. I said after my family, this team and this foundation to combat hate and anti-Semitism, those are my passions. As far as succession, succession is there. My eldest son, Jonathan, has been part of every key decision I’ve made for the last 30-odd years and is a full partner in everything. He stays out of the limelight. But we have a plan that is in place for all of our businesses. Were you suggesting something that? You know, that’s a bias. Sometimes with age, you have experience. But let’s see what happens this year. Let’s see what happens over the next 2-3 years.”
Bill Parcells
Kraft surprised reporters by announcing that he had buried the hatchet with Bill Parcells and asked his former head coach if he would accept a spot in the Patriots Hall of Fame, which Parcells accepted.
“I decided the end of last week to make a call to Bill Parcells and I asked him if we would be kind enough to accept going into our Patriot Hall of Fame. He had been a finalist for five years. Going back to your question [Greg], while both of us are alive in our late 30s, I thought it would be great given what he’s done for the team, if he would accept entry as a contributor into the Patriot Hall of Fame. He accepted. I actually wanted to meet with him in person, but he was on his way to Saratoga, where he goes. So I’m excited. We’ll have him at our Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, and I’m sorry if I messed up the Thursday meeting of people.”
Parcells was the coach of the New England Patriots from 1993 to 1996. He and Kraft had a tumultuous time together. Parcells viewed Kraft as a meddlesome owner, undercutting him on personnel decisions and Kraft was furious that Parcells agreed to take the New York Jets job, word of which leaked while the Patriots were preparing to play in Super Bowl XXXI.
