Bill Belichick Reportedly Not a 1st-Ballot Hall of Famer, 8-Time Super Bowl Champ's Reaction Leaked

Former NFL head coach Bill Belichick will not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, according to ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham.

Per that report, "In voting earlier this month, Belichick fell short of the 40 out of 50 votes needed for induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility, four sources with firsthand knowledge of the outcome told ESPN. Belichick received a call from a Hall representative last Friday afternoon with the news that he won't be inducted into the Hall in Canton, Ohio, this summer."

The longtime New England Patriots head coach was reportedly "puzzled" and "disappointed" by the news, asking his associates why "Six Super Bowls [with the Pats] isn't enough?" and "What does a guy have to do?" to get inducted.

The external reaction was one of both shock and critique for the Hall of Fame voting process:

"Holy f--k! Oh f--k! ... I'm very, very surprised," former sportswriter and longtime Hall of Fame voter, Peter King—who didn't vote this year—told ESPN after learning of the news. "A lot of things happen in that room that are unexpected. And of course this is a big surprise to me."

One of Belichick's associates told ESPN that "politics kept him out."

But ESPN's report suggested that Spygate and Deflategate may have also played a role. Both cheating scandals were discussed during conversations about Belichick's candidacy and ESPN reported that a "voter who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Bill Polian, an ardent Robert Kraft supporter and former general manager of the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts—a chief Patriots rival during their dynasty—told some voters he believed Belichick should 'wait a year' before induction as penance for Spygate, the 2007 cheating scandal that cost the team a first-round draft pick."

"The only explanation [for the outcome] was the cheating stuff," a veteran Hall voter added. "It really bothered some of the guys."

Belichick was up for induction in the same year as Kraft, the owner of the Patriots. The two didn't end on good terms, adding another layer of drama to this year's voting. But if one man was going to get in first, it should have been Belichick.

He won eight total titles (six as head coach of the Patriots, two as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants) and reached the Super Bowl 12 times. The Patriots won 17 division titles under his watch and nine AFC championships. His 21 winning seasons as a head coach rank fifth in NFL history, and his 302 wins rank third.

But he'll have to wait at least a year to reach the Hall.