US President Donald Trump and former star quarterback Tom Brady have said it is “ridiculous” legendary former NFL coach Bill Belichick has reportedly been denied first-ballot induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Belichick is widely considered the greatest coach in NFL history, having won six Super Bowl titles as head coach of the New England Patriots with Brady at quarterback, and two as defensive co-ordinator with the New York Giants,

He reportedly fell short of the 40 out of 50 votes needed for induction in his first year of eligibility, leading to widespread criticism from prominent sporting figures as well as Trump.

Trump posted on social media to say it was “ridiculous and should be overturned”.

Three-time NFL MVP Brady, who won a seventh Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021 before retiring two years later, said he could not understand the decision.

“If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, which is completely ridiculous because people deserve it,” Brady told Seattle Sports 710 AM.

“He’s incredible. There’s no coach I’d rather play for. If I’m picking one coach to go out there to win a Super Bowl – give me one season – I’m taking Bill Belichick. So that’s enough said.”

Belichick’s failure to gain sufficient votes could be a result of two scandals, known as Spy-gate and Deflate-gate, that engulfed the Patriots franchise during his time at the helm, according to ESPN, external.

However, Brady said he was “not worried” that Belichick would never be entered into the Hall of Fame.

He added: “We’ll all be there to celebrate him when it does happen, and he’s gonna have a huge turnout from so many players, coaches that appreciated everything he did, the commitment he made to winning and the impact that he had on all our lives.”