Jonathan A. Kraft (born March 4, 1964 in Brookline, Massachusetts) is an American businessman, the president of the New England Patriots, owner/investor of the New England Revolution, and both president and chief operating officer of The Kraft Group. He is one of four children of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his late wife Myra Kraft.
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Kraft attended the Belmont Hill School for high school. In 1986, Kraft graduated from Williams College with a bachelor's degree in history. He currently serves on Williams' board of trustees. After working as a consultant at Bain & Company for two years, Kraft earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1990.[1]
Since his family's purchase of the team in 1994, Kraft has held the titles of Vice President (1994–1999), Vice Chairman (2000–2005) and President (2005–present), and thus has overseen the management of each department in the organization.
Within the National Football League, Kraft serves on two owners' committees. In March 2006, when the National Football League Players Association and the NFL were dead-locked in contract negotiations, Kraft designed the revenue sharing plan that was used for that version of the collective bargaining agreement.
Since their inception in 1995 as one of the inaugural teams of Major League Soccer, Kraft has been the co-owner/investor of the Revolution, along with his father. Foxboro hosted its third MLS Cup in 2002, the first in Gillette Stadium and the first involving the Revolution as one of the teams vying for the MLS title. In front of an MLS-record crowd of 61,136, the Revolution would go on to lose the match, as well as their other three MLS Cup appearances in 2005, 2006, and 2007.
The Krafts' interest in soccer has extended beyond the Revolution. Foxboro Stadium played host to six matches of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, five of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, as well as the 2000 Founder's Cup. In November 2005, the Krafts expressed interested in purchasing the Liverpool F.C.,[2] but the team was eventually acquired by a pair including Tom Hicks, the owner of the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers, in February 2007.[3]
Kraft also served as the owner/investor of the San Jose Earthquakes from 1999–2000, the two years which the Kraft Group owned the team.
| Preceded by Fran Murray (in 1993) |
New England Patriots President 2005–present |
Succeeded by incumbent |
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