Photo: @ProFootballHOF

Decades from now, you won’t be able to tell the history of the Patriots dynasty without mentioning that Richard Seymour is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

One of the pillars of the early championships, Seymour was finally named a Hall of Famer at the NFL Honors on Thursday night in Los Angeles. Big No. 93 will be going in with Leroy Butler, Tony Boselli, Dick Vermeil, Bryant Young, Sam Mills, Art McNally and Cliff Branch.

After receiving his red jacket during Jets weekend this past season, Seymour will finally get his gold jacket in Canton, Ohio. For Patriots fans, Seymour’s induction is important because it opens the door for more players from the dynasty to get in. Seymour is the first player in the Belichick era to reach the Hall of Fame that he drafted and developed (Ty Law was a Parcells guy), which makes it even more important for his legacy as well. It’s an important induction for Mr. Kraft’s legacy too. He’ll go down as one of, if not the greatest owner in NFL history and one of the best in North American sports history, but the more guys inducted from that magical 20-year run, the more the legend of the Patriots under the Kraft family ownership group grows.

“I am thrilled that Richard Seymour will forever be recognized as one of the greatest players in the 102-year history of the NFL,” Kraft said in a statement Thursday night. “He laid the foundation for a defense that helped propel the Patriots to three Super Bowl championships in his first four seasons in the NFL. Richard was the consummate professional and leader always accepting the roles he was assigned, putting team goals ahead of personal ones, and in turn, raising the game of everyone around him.”

Shortly after Law announced Seymour as a Hall of Famer at the NFL Honors, the Patriots put out a video on Instagram of Seymour visiting Robert Kraft in L.A. to give him the news once Seymour found out earlier in the day.

“Obviously, you’ve been a tremendous supporter of me throughout my career,” Seymour told Kraft. “The great organization of the Patriots drafted me, and I only felt it was right to let you know first, obviously tonight being here in L.A. with the Super Bowl, that I’m the newest member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”

Kraft’s immediate reaction?

“That’s f’n awesome,” he said before giving Seymour a huge hug. “I don’t know if there’s another player in their first four years in the league that won three Super Bowls. The difference you made on our team was fantastic. I have the most amazing memories because you talked so calmly and you’re so cool. Wow, I love it, that’s awesome.”

Seymour had a few more thoughtful things to say to Kraft in the short two-minute video.

“You’ve been just a model owner, so influential, not just in football, but just as a business man and your philanthropy, everything that you mean.”

It was long overdue, but one of the main driving forces behind the elite defense (and never forget, the awesomely named Homeland Defense unit) the Patriots had in the early 2000’s is finally going to sit beside some of the greatest to every play professional football. It’s an honor Seymour hasn’t really wrapped his head around yet.

“This honor is my legacy, but when you think it in perspective, like, you’re the elite of the elite,” he said in the end of the video. “What that really means, I really probably haven’t grasped that and put it all in perspective, but to say I’m honored and grateful would be an understatement.”