Sometime after he left Columbia’s homecoming game, Bob Kraft boarded a private jet and flew to Texas to watch his New England Patriots play the Cowboys. He was sitting in a skybox eating lunch with actress Kate Hudson when a CBS commentator mentioned Kraft’s recent donation to his alma mater.
Columbia athletics didn’t get a five million dollar donation from just anyone. Robert K. Kraft, a Columbia alumnus and current owner of the New England Patriots, might be the most effective owner in all of professional sports. Based on what Kraft has been able to do in the NFL, it would be a surprise if in five years, his influence at Columbia hasn’t reshaped Ivy League football in a similar fashion.
For anyone who was wondering, Robert Kraft has nothing to do with Kraft Foods. He made his fortune in the paper products industry, with a company called the Rand-Whitney Group. He then founded another company called International Forest Products, then combined the two to create the world’s largest privately-held paper and packaging company.
The constant excitement of cardboard box manufacturing wasn’t enough for Kraft, and in 1994 he closed a deal to buy the New England Patriots for $200 million, thereby saving them from relocating to St. Louis. He took a team that had a string of dismal seasons through the 80's and early 90's and set about laying the groundwork for future success. He negotiated record-setting television and radio contracts, sold out every home game at Foxboro Stadium, and generated enthusiasm in the program that hadn’t existed for decades. He was the owner that negotiated the NFL’s $17.6 billion television contract, as well as the league’s exclusive equipment contract with Reebok.
Kraft has a reputation for being a business genius, and had a well-publicized feud with head coach Bill Parcells regarding his constant interference with the team’s day-to-day operations. Some owners treat their franchises like 200 million-dollar dog sweaters—something to brag about that does very little. Kraft took a role in every aspect of the team, and because of that, he and Parcells couldn’t get along. Neither could Kraft and Pete Carroll, the team’s next head coach.
In 2000, the Patriots gave up a first-round draft pick to get Bill Belichick from the Jets to be their new head coach. The next year, Tom Brady joined that party as a sixth-round draft pick out of Michigan. The ingredients for an NFL dynasty fell into place.
The Patriots have won three Super Bowls in four seasons, and now have more victories than any other NFL team. The team plays in one of the most advanced stadiums in the league—the only one that is completely privately funded—and the area around the stadium is slated to become a full-service entertainment destination for the Boston metropolitan area.
Robert Kraft’s five million dollar donation to Columbia may not mean much to the man financially, but it would be shocking if he doesn’t demand the same success from the Columbia Lions that he got from the Patriots. The timing of the gift is revealing, especially as rumors about a large sports donation from Kraft had been swirling in the football office long before Norries Wilson arrived at head coach. Maybe Kraft waited for the right time to attach his reputation to the Lions’ success? Despite the mismatch against Penn at homecoming, the program has an undeniable upward trajectory.
As a University trustee emeritus, Kraft likely is in constant communication with some level of the Columbia administration. Based on the degree of influence he has had on the Patriots and the NFL as a whole, he will demand that his investment at Columbia be spent wisely. That means more student-athletes will get the grants and financial aid they need to attend Columbia, and that Roar-ee the Lion will not be getting any more chocolate birthday cakes at homecoming.
Money tends to solve problems, and in the world of football, Robert Kraft’s money is worth more than its face value.