Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft’s Tumultuous Relationship: A Timeline

Bill Belichick and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft forged a historic partnership in the NFL before their relationship devolved into public mudslinging.

Belichick coached the Patriots to six Super Bowl championships between 2002 and 2019. The coach announced in January 2024 that he’d reached a mutual decision with Kraft to leave the team, despite signing a long-term contract extension in 2023. (Belichick subsequently accepted the head coaching job for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Tar Heels football team in December 2024.)

Belichick became entangled in a legal dispute with the Patriots when he and his girlfriend Jordon Hudson submitted trademark applications in April 2025 for some of his key catchphrases, which were owned by Kraft. They added “(Bill’s Version)” to the end of key phrases as a nod to Taylor Swift rerecording her classic songs as “Taylor’s Version” when her discography was owned by Scooter Braun.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ultimately sided with the NFL owner in September 2025 by striking down four of the coach’s proposed trademarks — “Do Your Job,” “Ignore the Noise,” “The Belestrator” and “No Days Off.”

Keep scrolling for a timeline of Belichick and Kraft’s complicated relationship.

1996

Belichick joined the New England Patriots as then-head coach Bill Parcells’ assistant head coach and defensive backs coach in the 1996 season. They led the Patriots to an AFC Championship win, but lost to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI, 35-21.

Both Belichick and his longtime mentor Parcells left the Patriots together to coach for the New York Jets in February 1997.

January 6, 2000

Parcells stepped down as Jets head coach in 1999. Belichick agreed in principle to new Jets owner Woody Johnson’s offer for a promotion as new head coach — but that did not happen.

When the Jets held a press conference to announce Belichick as the new head coach on January 4, 2000, he wrote “I resign as HC of the NYJ” on a napkin before stepping up to the microphone to speak.

“Due to the various uncertainties surrounding my position as it relates to the team’s new ownership, I’ve decided to resign as the head coach of the New York Jets,” he told stunned reporters. “I’ve given this decision very careful consideration and would like to wish the entire New York Jet organization — the players, the staff and the new ownership — the very best of luck for a prosperous future.”

January 27, 2000

Three weeks after his departure from the Jets, Belichick was announced as the new head coach of the New England Patriots. The hiring was personally approved by team owner Robert Kraft, who’d bought the Patriots in January 1994.

“Hopefully, this press conference will go a little bit better than the last one I had,” Belichick joked in his opening remarks.

He then told the media, “I’m tremendously excited to be here, to be a part of the New England Patriots organization.”

February 3, 2002

Belichick led the New England Patriots to their first Super Bowl victory together when they beat the St. Louis Rams, 20-17, in Super Bowl XXXVI.

The win set off a dynasty that would see Belichick’s Patriots clinch six Super Bowls championships between 2002 and 2019. The Patriots made it to the Super Bowl nine times total during that period — which set an all-time NFL coaching record for Belichick.

July 23, 2003

Kraft personally announced that he’d signed Belichick to a contract extension for seven years overall.

“It’s a real thrill for me to be a part of the Kraft Family and this organization,” Belichick said in a statement at the time. “I’m pleased that Mr. Kraft has chosen to extend my agreement here.”

September 13, 2007

Before a game against the San Diego Chargers at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Belichick delivered a public apology for a scandal that was becoming known as “Spygate.”

The scandal arose when the New York Jets caught a Patriots employee trying to film their coach’s sideline signals from an illegal location. The NFL technically allows teams to film the opposing side from designated locations, but the Patriots camera was spotted outside the legal bounds.

“Although it remains a league matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership, staff and players,” Belichick told reporters. “Following the league’s decision, I will have further comment.”

That same day, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell delivered the maximum possible fine — $500,000 — to Belichick and also ordered the Patriots to pay $250,000 for spying. The Patriots lost a first round draft selection, as well.

“This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid long-standing rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field,” the commissioner said.

Goodell considered suspending Belichick but decided that a heavy fine was more appropriate punishment.

“I believe that the discipline I am imposing of a maximum fine and forfeiture of a first-round draft choice, or multiple draft choices, is in fact more significant and long-lasting, and therefore more effective, than a suspension,” he said.

April 1, 2008

ESPN reported that Kraft and Belichick personally apologized to NFL owners for the Spygate scandal and the negative publicity it brought upon the league.

Belichick later told reporters that there had been one “positive” result of the Spygate controversy.

“We’ve taken it as a positive and reorganized our operations to make sure a situation like this never comes up again,” Belichick vowed. “Our operation is more efficient, more streamlined. Look at the results of this season. That would confirm it.”

September 13, 2013

Amid uncertainty about his future, the NFL Network reported that Belichick signed a multiyear contract extension with the Patriots. The exact terms and length of his deal were not publicly disclosed at the time.

January 19, 2015

KTHR Colts reporter Bob Kravitz broke the news on Twitter that the NFL planned to investigate the Patriots for allegedly deflating footballs.

The Patriots were accused of using an illegal tactic during their 2014 AFC Championship win against the Indianapolis Colts, where 11 of the 12 Patriots footballs were found to be underinflated. The ensuing scandal was known as “Deflategate.”

“I really don’t know what to say or know anything about what we’re talking about here,” Belichick said at a press conference on January 19. “Whatever it is, we’ll cooperate with [the NFL] the best we can.”

Speaking to the press on January 23, 2015, the coach insisted that he had “no explanation for what happened.” That same day, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said that he “didn’t alter the ball in any way.”

January 23, 2015

The NFL confirmed that NFL executive vice president Jeff Pash and attorney Ted Wells were leading a formal investigation into Deflategate.

“[The Patriots] promptly pledged their full cooperation and have made their personnel and other information available to us upon request,” the NFL said.

Their statement continued, “While the evidence thus far supports the conclusion that footballs that were underinflated were used by the Patriots in the first half, the footballs were properly inflated for the second half and confirmed at the conclusion of the game to have remained properly inflated.”

“The goals of the investigation will be to determine the explanation for why footballs used in the game were not in compliance with the playing rules and specifically whether any noncompliance was the result of deliberate action,” the league added. “We have not made any judgments on these points and will not do so until we have concluded our investigation and considered all of the relevant evidence.”

In his own statement, Kraft promised “access to every full and part-time employee the league’s representatives requested to speak with and produced every communication device that they requested to search.”

May 6, 2015

Wells’ 243-page report determined that it was “more probable than not” that Brady was “at least generally aware” of NFL rule violations. Investigators accused Patriots personnel of “participat[ing] in violations of the Playing Rules” and being “involved in a deliberate effort to circumvent the rules.”

The Wells Report determined that there was no credible evidence that Belichick or Patriots management had any knowledge of the deflating of footballs.

“To say we are disappointed in its findings, which do not include any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs at the AFC Championship Game, would be a gross understatement,” Kraft responded in a statement. “While I respect the independent process of the investigation, the time, effort and resources expended to reach this conclusion are incomprehensible to me.”

He went on, “Knowing that there is no real recourse available, fighting the league and extending this debate would prove to be futile. We understand and greatly respect the responsibility of being 1 of 32 in this league and, on that basis, we will accept the findings of the report and take the appropriate actions based on those findings as well as any discipline levied by the league.”

May 11, 2015

The NFL fined the New England Patriots $1 million and took away two future draft picks in response to the Wells Report findings. Brady was given a four-game suspension.

Kraft released a statement that same day to assure fans that Brady had “unconditional support” from the Patriots organization.

“Despite our conviction that there was no tampering with footballs, it was our intention to accept any discipline levied by the league,” Kraft said. “Today’s punishment, however, far exceeded any reasonable expectation. It was based completely on circumstantial rather than hard or conclusive evidence.”

The Patriots owner continued, “We are humbled by the support the New England Patriots have received from our fans throughout the world. We recognize our fans’ concerns regarding the NFL’s penalties and share in their disappointment in how this one-sided investigation was handled.”

Brady fought his suspension all the way to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2015, though his four-game suspension was ultimately upheld. The quarterback served his suspension during the 2016 regular season.

October 2023

The NFL Network reported that Belichick signed a new multiyear contract with the New England Patriots during the offseason.

“His contract [is] one of the most closely held secrets in New England. That said, I think it’s fair to say there was some, at least, uncertainty or intrigue surrounding him,” NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport revealed on GameDay Morning. “Now, contractually, he is locked up long-term.”

January 11, 2024

Months after signing a long-term contract, the New England Patriots announced that Belichick was stepping down as head coach, by mutual agreement with Kraft. The coaching change followed years of reported tension between Belichick and Kraft — and a losing 4-13 record for the Patriots that season.

“Robert and I, after a series of discussions, have mutually agreed to part ways,” Belichick later told the media. “For me, this is a day of gratitude and celebration. I’ll start with Robert and his family. So much thanks for the opportunity to be the coach here for 24 years. It’s an amazing opportunity, and I received tremendous support.”

The coach said he would “always be a Patriot” at heart.

“I look forward to coming back here but, at this time, we’re going to move on. I look forward and am excited for the future,” Belichick added. “Always very very appreciative of the opportunity here, the support here and, Robert, what you’ve done for me.”

That same day, Kraft explained to the media that he needed to make a coaching change because of a “pretty tough” few years for the Patriots.

“Our family is the custodian of this asset: the New England Patriots,” Kraft said. “We know how important it is to the psyche of the community and what’s gone on here the last three, four years isn’t what we want. We have a responsibility to do what we can to fix it to the best of our ability.”

October 11, 2024

Kraft reframed the narrative around Belichick’s Patriots departure during an interview with The Breakfast Club — as he denied that the exit was actually a mutual decision.

“I kept him for 24 years,” Kraft said. “I didn’t enjoy having to fire him, but I tried to do it – if you look at the press conference and how it happened — tried to do it in a classy way.”

The Patriots owner went on, “What he did for us was great. People need to adapt. People need to adapt and if they don’t, things can change. In life, it’s about getting good chemistry and trust and I feel that our record the last three or four years wasn’t what I wanted.”

December 11, 2024

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill confirmed that Belichick had officially signed a deal to become the new Tar Heels head football coach.

“I am excited to have the opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill,” Belichick said in a statement. “I grew up around college football with my Dad and treasured those times. I have always wanted to coach in college and now I look forward to building the football program in Chapel Hill.”

April 3, 2025

Belichick and his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, applied for trademarks for 14 of the coach’s catchphrases — including “No Days Off,” “Do Your Job” and “Ignore the Noise.” Each of the phrases were previously trademarked by Kraft on behalf of the New England Patriots.

Hudson attempted to get around any legal complexities by adding “(Bill’s Version)” to the end of each phrase as a nod to Taylor Swift’s strategy of rerecording some of her classic songs after her discography was purchased by Scooter Braun.

July 16, 2025

After Kraft told the “Dudes on Dudes” podcast that he’d taken “a big risk” by hiring Belichick in 2000, Belichick fired back in a statement to ESPN.

“As I told Robert multiple times through the years, I took a big risk by taking the New England Patriots head coaching job,” Belichick said. “I already had an opportunity to be the Head Coach of the New York Jets, but the ownership situation was unstable.”

Belichick alleged that he was “warned by multiple previous Patriots’ coaches” that the New England head coaching job would come with “many internal obstacles.”

“I made it clear that we would have to change the way the team was managed to regain the previously attained success,” he said. “I appreciated Robert allowing me to make those changes and build a program that was consistent with my vision for a championship team.”

August 21, 2025

Belichick delivered another thinly-veiled dig at Kraft while speaking to the Boston Globe about the benefits of coaching for the Tar Heels over the NFL.

“There’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son, there’s no cap, everything that goes with the marketing and everything else, which I’m all for that,” he said. “I’d say when we had our best years in New England, we had fewer people and more of a direct vision. And as that expanded, it became harder to be successful.”

September 8, 2025

ESPN reported that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refused to grant Hudson and Belichick’s trademarks on four key “Bill’s Version” phrases — “Do Your Job (Bill’s Version),” “Ignore the Noise (Bill’s Version),” “The Belestrator (Bill’s Version)” and “No Days Off (Bill’s Version)” — because they could create a “likelihood of confusion” due to similar trademarks owned by Kraft.

“It is likely consumers would be confused, mistaken or deceived as to the commercial source of the goods and/or services of the parties,” the PTO ruled.

December 3, 2025

Belichick set aside any tension with Kraft when both were selected as finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2026 class.

“To be in this position is extremely humbling,” Belichick said via Instagram. “I am honored to be named the Coaching Finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026.”

The coach added, “Congratulations to the other finalists: Roger Craig [of the San Francisco 49ers], Kenny Anderson [of the Cincinnati Bengals], L.C. Greenwood [of the Pittsburgh Steelers], and of course, Robert Kraft. I hope to see all of the deserving Patriots selected this year.”