How Many Votes Did Bill Belichick Get in His First Hall of Fame Ballot?

In one of the biggest shocks of this year in football, North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick was not voted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility despite his achievements. Belichick, who used to be the coach of the New England Patriots and guided the team to six Super Bowl wins, the most of any coach, was seen as a shoo-in during his first year of eligibility, but he ultimately got snubbed.

So how did “Big Bill” not get in? There is actually a vote to decide which players or coaches get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and there are 50 members of the Hall of Fame selection committee who will choose who to induct. These are made up of media members and Hall of Famers. To get in, he needed 40 votes, with each member allowed to vote for up to three candidates.

The number of votes that Bill Belichick received was not officially revealed, but since he did not make it to this year’s class, this means that at least 11 of those members did not vote for him. Of those 50 members, 22 have stated that they will vote for him, while one member admitted that he will not.

Meanwhile, another 25 of those members have their votes still unknown, and another two members have publicly revealed that they would not be revealing who they voted for this year.

CBS Sports has compiled a list of committee members who have said publicly that they have voted for him:

1. Arizona: Kent Somers, retired Arizona Republic
2. Buffalo: Vic Carucci, WGRZ-TV
3. Chicago: Dan Pompei, The Athletic
4. Cleveland: Tony Grossi, ESPNCleveland.com/WKNR Radio
5. Detroit: Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press
6. Green Bay: Pete Dougherty, Green Bay Press-Gazette
7. Houston: John McClain, SportsRadio610
8. Los Angeles (Chargers): Eric Williams, Sports Illustrated
9. Miami: Armando Salguero, Outkick.com
10. New York (Giants): Gary Myers, Author
11. New York (Jets): Rich Cimini, ESPN.com
12. Philadelphia: Paul Domowitch, The33rdTeam.com/PhillyMag.com
13. Pittsburgh: Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
14. Seattle: Mike Sando, The Athletic
15. Tennessee: Paul Kuharsky, PaulKuharsky.com
16. Washington: Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY
17. PFWA: Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News
18. At-Large: Mary Kay-Cabot, Cleveland Plain Dealer
19. At-Large: Jason Cole, FanSided.com
20. At-Large: Lindsay Jones, The Ringer
21. At-Large: Sal Paolantonio, ESPN
22. At-Large: Charean Williams, Pro Football Talk

Insider Says Possible Reason Why Committee Members Did Not Vote for Bill Belichick

As for why Bill Belichick did not get into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, The Athletic’s Mike Sando revealed some possible reasons.

He noted that Spygate, where Belichick was accused of spying against opposing teams, was a possible big factor. Another reason is that other voters may have prioritized the more senior candidates, while other voters might not have agreed with the rule change that made former coaches eligible after just one year out of the league.

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