Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Takes Step Closer To Pro Football Hall Of Fame

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft found out Wednesday he got to the semifinalist stage for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for a third straight year.

But this very well could be Kraft’s best chance to put on a gold jacket.

Kraft, 83, is one of nine semifinalists in the contributor category — the group stood at 25 people before getting cut down. Kraft met his demise in the process the past two years with that category combined with coaches. But the Hall of Fame’s board of directors voted earlier this year to separate the two groups, opening up a better path for Kraft.

Kraft’s credentials certainly are worthy of him ending up in Canton, Ohio. His teams won six Super Bowl titles and he was a key member of several NFL owners’ committees since taking control of the Patriots in 1994.

Eight other semifinalists, who include K.S. “Bud” Adams, Ralph Hay, Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Art Modell, Art Rooney Jr., Seymour Siwoff, Doug Williams and John Wooten, stand in Kraft’s way of further consideration for the Hall of Fame.

Kraft, with the help of team spokesperson Stacey James, reportedly in recent years made a strong push behind-the-scenes to get into the Hall of Fame. ESPN reported that the Patriots’ on-field controversies like Spygate and Deflategate plus the owner’s Orchid of Asia incident swayed committee members to not vote for Kraft.

Perhaps it will be different this time around for Kraft. The blue-ribbon committee will select one finalist from the group of nine on Nov. 12 to be reviewed by the full selection committee.