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There’s plenty of evidence that suggests there’s plenty of bad blood between Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft due to what went down toward the end of the former’s tenure with the Patriots. Now, we’ve got some more courtesy of the book the legendary head coach managed to write without mentioning the owner’s name a single time.
Bill Belichick and Tom Brady were obviously the most instrumental figures in the dynasty the Patriots built after the two of them joined forces near the start of the millennium.
With that said, I’d argue no one reaped the benefits more than Robert Kraft, the man who bought the franchise for $172 million in 1994 and got a very solid return on that investment when you consider Forbes estimates it’s now worth $7.4 billion (making it the third most valuable in the NFL behind the Cowboys and the Rams).
There was plenty of debate about whether Belichick or Brady deserved more credit for the team’s success before it was largely settled after the latter traded New England for Tampa Bay in 2020. The QB won another Super Bowl with the Buccaneers prior to retiring, while his former coach went 29-38 before his time with the Patriots came to an end after 24 seasons following a 4-13 campaign in 2023.
That development was officially positioned as a mutual separation. However, you’d be hard-pressed to find many people who genuinely believe that explanation, and there have been plenty of reports highlighting the growing tensions that seemingly led to Kraft deciding to kick Belichick to the curb.
The man who is currently gearing up for his first season as the head coach at the University of North Carolina has unsurprisingly declined to offer much insight into his side of the story, and if you were hoping to hear about his thoughts on Kraft in his upcoming book, The Art of Winning, you’re probably going to be disappointed.
According to The Boston Globe, the memoir may be a textbook case of silence speaking volumes, as longtime columnist Dan Shaughnessy got his hands on a preview copy of the 289-page publication he says is noticeably void of the words “Robert Kraft.”
Belichick seemingly alludes to the owner while discussing “The Patriot’s Way” (a philosophy he says “does not exist” while positioning it as a money grab), and Shaughnessy notes there are 363 people mentioned in the “Acknowledgments” section where Kraft is nowhere to be found.
Awkward.