Tom Brady’s Hall of Fame status should be the easiest call in NFL history. Seven Super Bowl rings.
Three MVPs. Countless playoff comebacks.
A two-decade run of dominance that redefined what it means to be a franchise quarterback. But somehow, his name is now being dragged into a conversation that should be closed before it starts - whether he’ll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
It all started with Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft - two cornerstones of the Patriots dynasty - being passed over for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That raised some eyebrows.
Then came ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who didn’t hold back on First Take, voicing what many fans were already thinking.
“So Belichick is not in. Kraft is not in.
What are you going to do next? You going to deny Tom Brady?”
Smith said. “You might as well burn down the building if that happened.”
Hyperbole? Sure.
But his point isn’t lost. If Tom Brady - the most decorated quarterback in NFL history - doesn’t make it into Canton on the first ballot, then what exactly are we doing here?
Smith went a step further, calling Brady’s induction a non-negotiable. “There is no athlete in any sport on the planet, in America or the world over, that would tell you that Tom Brady ain’t a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” he said. “Based on what we’re seeing, that’s the trend.”
That trend - if you can call it that - is what’s raising red flags. Belichick, the architect of six Super Bowl titles, didn’t get the nod.
Kraft, the owner who helped build one of the NFL’s greatest dynasties, has been denied 13 years in a row. That’s not just a pattern - it’s a statement.
But not everyone is on board with Brady’s automatic enshrinement. NFL analyst Ron Parker joined *The Stephen A.
Smith Show* and pushed back hard. His take?
The Hall of Fame shouldn’t just be about wins and rings - it should be about integrity.
“Where is the punishment?” Parker asked. “Shouldn’t there be some integrity, honesty in the Hall of Fame?”
He brought up names like Pete Rose, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens - all legends in their sports, all kept out of their respective Halls due to allegations of cheating or scandals. Parker lumped Brady and Belichick into that same category, citing their connection to controversies like Spygate and Deflategate.
“Tom Brady is best described as Lance Armstrong without the bicycle,” Parker said. “They cheated. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are connected at the hip.”
Parker’s argument is clear: if the Hall of Fame is going to hold the line on character and integrity, then it needs to apply the same standard across the board - even to football’s greatest quarterback.
He also pointed to Kraft’s repeated snubs as further evidence that the Hall is already drawing a hard line. “Look at Robert Kraft!
He’s been denied 13 years in a row!” Parker said.
“He’s not in the Hall of Fame as an owner.”
So where does this leave us?
On one side, you have the undeniable résumé of Tom Brady - the records, the rings, the legacy. A player who not only dominated his era but helped define it. On the other, you have critics who believe that the Hall of Fame should be about more than just what happens between the lines.
But here’s the bottom line: if Tom Brady isn’t a first-ballot Hall of Famer, then the Hall itself has a credibility problem. You can debate ethics, you can debate legacy - but you can’t debate greatness. And when it comes to Brady, greatness is the one thing that’s never been in question.