The snub of Bill Belichick as a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer has left many key figures in the football world upset and confused. Perhaps the most notable and knowledgeable is Tom Brady, who won six Super Bowls while playing for Belichick with the Patriots for 20 seasons.
“I don’t understand it,” Brady said in an interview on Seattle Sports 710 AM. “I mean, I was with him every day. If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
“He’s incredible. There’s no coach I’d rather play for. If I’m picking one coach to go out there to win a Super Bowl — give me one season — I’m taking Bill Belichick. So, that’s enough said.”
Brady has no doubt that Belichick will eventually get into the Hall of Fame, saying he’s “not worried about that.” Still, he’s not a fan of what has transpired with his former coach.
“When it comes down to votes and popularity and all that, welcome to the world of voting,” Brady said. “You may as well go try out for the Oscars or whatever and get a big panel to tell you if you’re good or not. It’s the way it works, unfortunately.”
Brady admittedly didn’t have the best relationship with Belichick in the quarterback’s final seasons in New England. In one of his newsletters in 2025, Brady wrote that there was a “tension” between the two. But Brady has always backed his former coach. In fact, he wrote a note to be shared when Belichick’s name was brought up for deliberation when the 50 Hall of Fame voters met earlier in January.
“I don’t believe that any coach in the history of the game has done more to earn his place in the Hall of Fame than Bill Belichick,” Brady wrote in his note, via Hall of Fame voter Armando Salguero. “To say that he was my greatest coaching influence would be an understatement. His tremendous leadership, vision and daily discipline allowed our team to excel in nearly every area for almost two decades. We were consistently competitive at the highest level every week as he challenged us to grow from the day that season started to the day it ended. That’s the role of the head coach and that’s Bill Belichick.
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“I had a front row seat for 20 years watching the greatest coach of all time prepare, teach and lead. He set the standard every single day. His mindset, his consistency, his ability to adapt and evolve — was unmatched. He expected a championship level standard from everyone in the building, and he got it. That’s why we won! And that’s why he belongs in Canton.
“I’m grateful for what we accomplished together, and I’ll always be proud of the team we built. No one’s more deserving of this honor than Coach Belichick.”
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Though Brady’s note wasn’t enough to sway the voters, he remains hopeful that Belichick will be inducted into the Hall of Fame soon.
“We’ll all be there to celebrate him when it does happen,” Brady said on Wednesday. “He’s going to have a huge turnout from so many players, coaches who appreciated everything that he did and the commitment he put into winning and the impact that he had on all of our lives.
“It’ll be a great celebration when that happens.”
