The Department of Justice released the latest batch of files pertaining to the crimes and communications of Jeffrey Epstein this past Friday afternoon, and while everyone was more than prepared to see the names of various celebrities and prominent political figures, almost no one was expecting to discover a direct tie between Epstein and the owner of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft.
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As Kraft’s team continues to prepare for their championship outing against the Seattle Seahawks at Super Bowl LX on February 8th, the 84-year-old American businessman finds himself in the midst of a potential legacy-shattering scandal, which all seems to stem from his 2019 misdemeanor charge for solicitation of prostitution.
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
In an email exchange between Epstein and Jack Goldberger, a notable criminal defense attorney, Goldberger wrote, “See, Kraft got arrested. Should take local news away from us.” Epstein responded by simply stating, “Yes. I’m trying to have him hire you.” The exchange is dated as February 22nd of 2019, and just six days later, on the 28th, ESPN reported that the Patriots’ owner had hired Goldberger as one of his attorneys.
The history between Epstein and Goldberger is that the defense attorney once helped the late s*x trafficker reach a non-prosecution deal with the Miami U.S. Attorney’s office in 2008 to end an investigation into Epstein’s sexual abuse of 40+ victims. In an unfortunate turn of events, however, this doesn’t appear to be the only instance in which Kraft seemingly followed the advice of Epstein.
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, Goldeberger, 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.”
Just a few days later, in early March of 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 then-ongoing legal troubles. Although, the real concern lies within Epstein’s response to Goldberger’s text, which simply 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 who was mentioned throughout the three million records that were released. The New York Giants’ Steve Tisch, the Carolina Panthers’ David Tepper, the Washington Commanders’ Josh Harris, and several others were all mentioned in the latest release as well.
With their largest event of the year being just around the corner, it’s safe to say that this bombshell couldn’t have come at a worse time for the league, which will now have to spend its celebratory media week explaining away these various issues.
