At this point, you might as well call the NFL rigged! Because how are we even having this conversation?

Six-time Super Bowl–winning head coach Bill Belichick not being voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility sounds crazy, but it's true! 

From @TheAthletic: Bill Belichick was not voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility and folks around the NFL are shocked. Belichick, now UNC's head coach, won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots. https://t.co/3BUuC6Uaes

— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 28, 2026

According to ESPN, Belichick did not receive the required 40 votes from the 50-person Hall of Fame selection committee, falling short of the 80 percent threshold needed for first-ballot induction. Belichick was informed of the decision via a call from the Hall of Fame last Friday (Jan. 23). The Hall itself declined to comment ahead of the official Class of 2026 announcement, scheduled for Feb. 5 at NFL Honors in San Francisco.

And that’s where the disbelief really set in. Six Super Bowls. A dynasty built from the ground up. Three Coach of the Year awards. The second-most wins in NFL history. The mass is struggling to understand what box possibly wasn’t checked. One reaction summed it up perfectly: "If a legend like Belichick isn’t first ballot, then what really counts for Hall of Fame voters?"

Belichick, who led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles and three additional appearances between 2001 and 2018, finished his NFL coaching career with 333 total wins across the regular season and playoffs, trailing only Don Shula. Shula, for context, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his very first year of eligibility back in 1997. So yeah, the math isn’t mathing.

Naturally, the reaction from players was immediate and loud. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes posted on social media, "Insane … don’t even understand how this could be possible." Tom Brady didn’t hold back either, calling the decision "completely ridiculous" and adding, "If he's not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there's really no coach that should ever be." LeBron James even chimed in from the NBA side, describing the snub as "impossible, egregious, and quite frankly disrespectful."

Former players echoed that same disbelief. J.J. Watt admitted, "I can't be reading this right," while Ryan Clark labeled the decision "petty" and "maddening." Even Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson flat-out called it "WRONG."

Belichick wasn’t exactly pushed aside in the process either. He headlined the initial list of 12 coaching nominees for the Class of 2026 and advanced through the Coach Blue-Ribbon Committee to the final stage, alongside names like Tom Coughlin, Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren, and Marty Schottenheimer. In the final round, selectors were asked to choose three candidates from a group that included Belichick, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and senior finalists Ken Anderson, Roger Craig, and L.C. Greenwood. Still, Belichick didn’t crack the vote threshold. That technical explanation hasn’t done much to calm fans. If anything, it’s made them angrier. 

Report: Bill Belichick not a first-ballot Hall of Famer. FTF OT reacts:@DannyParkins: “It’s ridiculous.”@GregJennings: “What are we doing?”@willcolon66: "It’s embarrassing for the NFL.” pic.twitter.com/idQyfxYse7

— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) January 28, 2026

Some even dragged Belichick’s recent move to college football into the debate, arguing that his stint at the University of North Carolina somehow hurt his legacy. Fans pushed back hard on that take, with one pointing out the absurdity of rewriting decades of dominance because of one imperfect chapter. As another user put it, "What he does in his personal life shouldn't affect his legacy on the field."

At the end of the day, this moment has turned into something bigger than one coach missing a first-ballot nod. Belichick’s absence has reignited long-standing debates about how Hall of Fame voting works and whether personal feelings are creeping into what’s supposed to be an objective honor. Six Super Bowls, a football empire, and a resume most coaches could only dream of and still not enough on the first try.

Fans are rattled, players are confused, and the NFL world is side-eyeing the Hall of Fame hard. Because if Bill Belichick isn’t a first-ballot Hall of Famer, then honestly… what are we doing here?