Patriots Owner Robert Kraft ‘Disappointed’ By AppleTV+’s ‘Negative’ Team Documentary, ‘The Dynasty’

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has expressed his disappointment with the documentary called The Dynasty highlighting the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick-led teams. Kraft said that the documentary focused on the various controversies and negative side of the Patriots rather than their accomplishments.

“I wish they had focused more on our Super Bowl wins, our 21-game win streak. I felt bad there were players who gave hours and hours of interviews and they felt only the negativity,” Kraft said. “So a little disappointed that there wasn’t more of a real positive approach – especially for Patriot fans who have lived the experience with us.”

The Dynasty is a 10-part documentary on AppleTV+ that highlights the New England franchise from the time when Brady took over for quarterback Drew Bledsoe in 2001, all the way to Brady and Belichick’s break-up in 2020. Instead of focusing mostly on the winning steak and Super Bowls as Kraft wanted, the documentary also highlights the team’s scandals, including SpyGate, DeflateGate and the Aaron Hernandez murder trial.

Former players Devin McCourtney and Rodney Harrison were interviewed for the documentary series, but were critics of the final product, believing that they “got duped.” McCourtney also noted that the documentary painted Belichick in an unfair light, comments which Kraft responded to.

“Look, I’ll state this clearly: I feel so privileged that we had Bill here. We hope when he’s finished [coaching], that we’re going to have a chance to honor him the way we will do with Tom Brady this year. … I look forward to the privilege of putting Bill into the Patriots Hall of Fame one day in the future,” he said.

Following the documentary which showed the New England Patriots in a way that many fans have never seen before, criticisms of the team are now more outward than ever. In the most recent NFL Players Association survey, the team ranked 29th of 32 teams in the league. Their weight room was ranked last, and New England is one of only seven teams that does not provide game-day childcare support for players.

“I must tell you, I was unaware of how bad that was,” Kraft said in response. “We’ve had a plan, and we put in place, where we’re committing a whole new facility adjacent to ours that has been discussed with the young leadership team – a building that will be in excess of $50 million that will have the most [modern] facilities.”

Without Brady or Belichick for the first time this century, Kraft and the Patriots are now in unfamiliar territory going into the 2024 NFL season. With new head coach Jerod Mayo, Kraft and the organization are looking to make the necessary changes to return to their Super Bowl-winning form, but it will take time. Most important for the team is a quarterback, and with the third overall pick in the upcoming draft, the Patriots could find their new long-term starter. If not, the team still has Jacoby Brissett, Bailey Zappe and Nathan Rourke in their quarterback room.

It will no doubt be the start of a new era for Kraft and the Patriots, and with the documentary and player survey, they aren’t off to the best start.