New England Patriots

The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area, competing in the NFL as a member of the AFC East.

The New England Patriots (colloquially known as the Pats) are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is 22 mi southwest of Boston. The franchise is owned by Robert Kraft, who purchased the team in 1994. As of 2025, the Patriots are the seventh-most valuable sports team in the world and have sold out every home game since 1994.

Lore & Background

Founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots, the team was a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) before joining the NFL in 1970 through the AFL–NFL merger. The Patriots played their home games at various stadiums throughout Boston, including Fenway Park from 1963 to 1968, until the franchise moved to Foxborough in 1971. As part of the move, the team changed its name to the New England Patriots. Home games were played at Foxboro Stadium until 2002 when the stadium was demolished alongside the opening of Gillette Stadium.

The team began using Gillette Stadium for home games the same year. Generally mediocre until coming under the ownership of Robert Kraft, the Patriots experienced unexpected success in the 2001 season under head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, which started a period of dominance which lasted until the 2019 season. The Brady–Belichick era, regarded as one of the greatest sports dynasties, would see the Patriots claim nearly every major Super Bowl record.

The Patriots hold the records for most Super Bowl wins (6, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers), appearances (12), and losses (6). Other NFL records held by the franchise include the most wins in a 10-year period (126 from 2003 to 2012), the longest winning streak of regular season and playoff games (21 from October 2003 to October 2004), the most consecutive winning seasons (19 from 2001 to 2019), the most consecutive conference championship appearances (8 from 2011 to 2018), the most consecutive division titles (11 from 2009 to 2019), the only undefeated 16-game regular season (2007), the most postseason wins (40, tied with the San Francisco 49ers), and the highest postseason winning percentage (.638).

Reader's Guide

The Patriots never had a regular home stadium in the AFL. Boston University Field, Harvard Stadium, Fenway Park (shared with Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox), and Boston College's Alumni Stadium all served as home fields during their time in the American Football League. The 1963 season saw the franchise's first playoff win over Buffalo to clinch the division. They subsequently lost the AFL Championship game to the San Diego Chargers 51–10.

They did not appear again in an AFL or NFL post-season game for another 13 years. When the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, the Patriots were placed in the American Football Conference (AFC) East division, where they still play. The following year, the Patriots moved to a new stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, their home for the next 30 years, and changed their name from the Boston Patriots to the Bay State Patriots, after the state of Massachusetts.

The name was rejected by the NFL and on March 22, 1971, the team officially announced they would change its geographic name to New England. Anchored by offensive lineman John Hannah, widely regarded among the greatest at his position, along with future Hall of Famers Mike Haynes (cornerback) and Andre Tippett (linebacker), the Patriots achieved intermittent success during the 1970s and 1980s. Raymond Berry took over the coaching reins in 1984 and led the Patriots to a 51–41 record the next five and a half years.

Berry's 1985 team had an 11–5 record, earned a wild-card playoff berth, and won three straight AFC playoff games on the road to advance to Super Bowl XX, which they lost to the Chicago Bears 46–10. Berry left the team after a disappointing 1989 season, and his replacement Rod Rust only lasted one season, 1990, during which the Patriots went 1–15. In the mid-1970s, team owner Billy Sullivan temporarily lost control of the Patriots despite holding a significant ownership stake (20% of the voting stock), but regained it after buying out minority partners and public shareholders.

The buyout later led to a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that the transaction was illegal and required additional compensation to shareholders. Financial difficulties intensified in the 1980s, particularly after heavy losses tied to financing The Jacksons' 1984 Victory Tour, which had been secured using Sullivan Stadium as collateral.

Did You Know?

The Patriots are named after the colonists who rebelled against British control during the Revolutionary War, which was locally relevant due to the colony of Massachusetts playing a pivotal role in American independence.
Running back Jim Nance set the AFL single-season rushing record with 1,458 yards in 1966—a year he was named AFL MVP—and followed up with 1,216 yards in 1967.
Rob Gronkowski, nicknamed 'Gronk', is widely regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time. He was a staple of the 2010s offenses.