Bill Belichick was not voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, and folks around the NFL are shocked.
Belichick, who is now the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, fell short of the 40-vote threshold for election despite having won six Super Bowls as the head coach of the New England Patriots. He left the NFL in 2024 after a 24-year run as the head coach of the Patriots.
Belichick, 73, has 333 career wins (including the playoffs) as an NFL head coach, trailing only Don Shula, who compiled 347 wins. Shula, a two-time Super Bowl champion, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997, his first year of eligibility.
The news shocked those who played both for and against Belichick.
“Insane,” Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes wrote in a post on X. “Don’t even understand how this could be possible.”
Or as former player Marcus Spears more bluntly put it, “This may be the stupidest s— ever.”
Some who were part of the balloting process even took issue with their fellow voters.
“I voted for Bill Belichick and I am embarrassed for our 50-member committee that the greatest coach in NFL history is not a first ballot HOFer and some voters apparently felt he deserved to be punished for Spygate,” wrote writer Gary Myers.
Added voter Tony Grossi, “I am appalled at the leak & the result of the vote.”
Here is what many prominent voices in the sports world had to say:
This is just WRONG ..#2 winning ALL TIME…more Super Bowls than anyone unimaginable # of division championships…lot of small jealous voters https://t.co/Q4H5Qnz2L2
— Jimmy Johnson (@JimmyJohnson) January 27, 2026
I can’t be reading this right.
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. https://t.co/OXhL1Sd4FM
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) January 27, 2026
Man there’s no way I read that right! Right? Ain’t no WAY Bill Belichick ain’t 1st Ballot HOF!! That’s IMPOSSIBLE, EGREGIOUS, and quite frankly DISRESPECTFUL!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 28, 2026
Insane… don’t even understand how this could be possible https://t.co/EiKUeRPffn
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) January 27, 2026
Whoever is holding the authority has got a personal problem with him..because there ain’t no way Coach Belichick is not a first ballot Hall of Famer… https://t.co/NJIMOaxdln
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) January 27, 2026
I need someone to explain to me what a first ballot hall of fame coach looks like if it’s not Bill! https://t.co/OVA2Ksmish
— Jason McCourty (@JasonMcCourty) January 27, 2026
— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) January 27, 2026
That’s a disgrace for whatever committee that decided this! https://t.co/g8B6nVgilI
— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) January 27, 2026
No matter how you feel about Bill Belichick, he EARNED being a 1st Ballot NFL Hall of Famer.
8-Time Super Bowl Champ.
Greatest NFL Coach of All Time.
For him not to be is RIDICULOUSLY STUPID.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 27, 2026
This feels punitive and not based on performance. Give me a break https://t.co/L5e72Av6wn
— trey wingo (@wingoz) January 27, 2026
I just spoke on the phone with Bill Polian and asked whether he was an influence on Bill Belichick being snubbed by the Hall of Fame. His quote:
“That’s totally and categorically untrue. I voted for him.”
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) January 27, 2026