The NFL and the football world received a jolt when the Department of Justice released a batch of files related to the crimes and communications of Jeffrey Epstein on Friday afternoon. While everyone expected to see the names of various celebrities and prominent political figures in the documents, almost no one imagined discovering a direct tie between Epstein and the owner of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft.
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Kraft’s team is preparing for its championship outing against the Seattle Seahawks at Super Bowl LX on February 8. But the 84-year-old American businessman has a larger challenge to face, finding himself in a potential legacy-shattering scandal.
The trouble for Kraft seems to stem from his 2019 misdemeanor charge for solicitation of prostitution. An email exchange between Epstein and Jack Goldberger, a notable criminal defense attorney, has come to light in the Department of Justice files.
In the email, Goldberger wrote, “See, Kraft got arrested. Should take local news away from us.” Epstein responded by stating, “Yes. I’m trying to have him hire you.” The exchange is dated February 22, 2019. And just six days later, on February 28, ESPN reported that the Patriots’ owner had hired Goldberger as one of his attorneys.
So for NFL owners in the Epstein files, we've got at least four: the Patriots' Robert Kraft, the Commanders' Josh Harris, the Giants' Steve Tisch, and the Vikings' Zygi Wolf pic.twitter.com/TuwJkqB59U
— David Covucci (@DavidCovucci) January 31, 2026
Epstein and Goldberger have a history that dates back to when the defense attorney helped the late s*x trafficker reach a non-prosecution deal with the Miami U.S. Attorney’s office in 2008. This was done to end an investigation into Epstein’s s*xual abuse of over 40 victims.
However, this doesn’t appear to be the only instance in which Kraft seemingly followed the advice of Epstein. Another communication has also come to light in the released documents.
New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, took the legal advice that was discussed between Jeffrey Epstein & a person named “Jack” immediately after Kraft’s solicitation scandal.
Epstein told “Jack” that he “needed to know about a past issue with Kraft that may come to light.” pic.twitter.com/xVeK7EXhU7
— Drew Cook (@CooksCoverage) January 31, 2026
In a separate text exchange, Goldberger, who was saved in Epstein’s phone as ‘Jack,’ informed Epstein about the ongoing formation of Kraft’s legal team.
“Many people advising him, but after call, he called back and said he wants me and my Quinn Emanuel guy to handle it. The other guy trying to weasel in was Dan Conley. Don’t know anything about him, but having a Boston guy come down and trying to overpower these line assistants would be a huge mistake, and Kraft got it,” wrote Goldeberger.
A few days later, in early March 2019, it was reported by Yahoo Finance and Law.com that Kraft had brought on William ‘Bill’ Burck, the co-managing partner in Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan’s Washington, D.C., office, to assist with his legal troubles. However, the real concern lies in Epstein’s response to Goldberger’s text. He had stated, “You need to know about a past issue with Kraft that may come to light.”
To make matters even worse for the NFL, it turns out that Kraft wasn’t the only owner mentioned in the three million records that were released. The New York Giants’ Steve Tisch, the Washington Commanders‘ Josh Harris, and several others were all mentioned.
With their largest event of the year being just around the corner, this bombshell couldn’t have come at a worse time for the league. The NFL will probably have to spend its celebratory media week explaining away these various issues.
