Robert Kraft finalized a deal with the National Football League (NFL) to buy the New England Patriots for $227 million in 1994. The team is now worth $4 billion. Football fans under age 30 have always known the Patriots as a championship team, but that was not the case when Kraft first took over.
The Patriots were so bad that they won just 19 games combined for the seasons ending in 1989 through 1993. Having played 80 regular season games in that timeframe, the Patriots won less than one game for every four they played. The team went through five head coaches in as many years.
So Bad That the NFL Took Control of the Team
When the New England team could not keep a coach for more than one season, NFL management stepped in and brought the team under its direct control. The NFL transferred the team’s control to James Orthwein a short time later. Orthwein attempted to move the Patriots to St. Louis amidst legal challenges and many off-field scandals. The stadium where the Patriots played was in disrepair, and the people who owned it had to declare bankruptcy.
Robert Kraft Considers Moving the New England Patriots to Hartford
Once Kraft stepped in, he seriously considered moving the team from the Boston suburbs to Hartford, Connecticut. He even met with the mayor of Hartford at a pep rally and gave him a Patriots jersey. The move never materialized, even though Kraft had signed an agreement with the governor of Connecticut.
As a business professional who had operated the Kraft Group for more than 20 years, Kraft knew enough to include a clause in the contract that allowed him to back out of the deal with Hartford without penalty. That is exactly what he did after deciding to remain in the Boston area and commit to producing a championship team.
The New England Patriots’ Performance Under Robert Kraft’s Ownership
The Patriots have won the Super Bowl six times since Kraft bought the team 28 years ago. During that same timeframe, they have won 10 conference championships and 19 division titles. These statistics make the Patriots the winningest team in the NFL since they came under Kraft’s ownership. Even rivals of the New England Patriots have to admit how amazing these accomplishments are considering the state of the team when Kraft purchased it nearly three decades ago.
About Robert Kraft
Robert Kraft was born and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts, and attended local public schools. He received an academic scholarship to Columbia University and graduated in 1963. He then attended Harvard Business School after receiving a fellowship. Kraft received his MBA from Harvard in 1968. He would open his first company just four years later and develop Kraft Group as a holding company for his multiple businesses a few years after that.
His love of sports and success in business is what spurred Kraft to invest in the New England Patriots and reverse the team’s downward spiral. He had been a fan of the team ever since they joined the NFL 25 years earlier, having been a season ticket holder for 23 of those years.
As the team’s performance during Kraft’s tenure indicates, he made smart business decisions that led to multiple championships. Signing rookie quarterback Tom Brady in 2001 and committing funds to building Gillette Stadium are just two examples of decisions that had a significant positive impact on the team’s performance.
Three of Robert Kraft’s sons, Jonathan Kraft, Josh Kraft, and Daniel Kraft, currently hold positions of leadership with the Kraft Group. Each member of the Kraft family values building relationships with clients, vendors, and the community. As the company CEO and family patriarch, Robert Kraft instilled a strong sense of integrity and work ethic in each of his sons. These values are still on full display with the Kraft Group today.
The Kraft family is among the top philanthropists in the world and support a variety of causes related to women, children, education, healthcare, and youth sports. When he is not overseeing the goings-on at Kraft Group or celebrating another championship with the Patriots, Kraft serves on the board of at least four non-profit organizations in the Boston area.