The Patriots-Eagles rivalry started with Robert Kraft and Jeffrey Lurie more than 20 years ago

MINNEAPOLIS – Beneath this “friendly” rivalry between Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie are raw emotions. Kraft twice -– for Patriots ownership in 1994 and in the 2005 Super Bowl -– has beaten Lurie when it mattered most. Here in Super Bowl 52 they clash in another all-or-nothing scrap that will generate more ownership joy and scars.

Kraft already thrives in both worlds.

He knows he is the envy of other NFL owners. He has five Super Bowl trophies and is reaching for a sixth. Fewer than a third of the current owners have one. Kraft thinks Spygate and Deflategate and other Patriots league issues were the result of this envy and of ownership mudslinging. Kraft has built a thick core. He will keep making room on his mantle for Lombardi trophies while they have at it. He will smile in their face while boldly kicking in their teeth.

Lurie represents the rest of the NFL ownership that wants to see Kraft and the Patriots humbled. The NFL’s vicious competitiveness starts at the top with ownership.

This Super Bowl is a second chance for Lurie to complete this goal: If you can’t own ‘em, beat ‘em.

”Back in 1994 you had Kraft and Lurie, two Boston-area-born guys, who wanted to buy the Patriots,” recalled Joe Browne, a 50-year NFL front office executive who was executive vice president of communications and government affairs when he retired in March 2016.

“The league had gotten to the place where it was tired of the Patriots’ problems. It had gone from Billy Sullivan’s ownership to a Michael Jackson Victory Tour financial issue for him to Victor Kiam’s ownership and then James Orthwein. There were consistent financial problems all the way through and talk of selling the team and moving it. The league wanted stability there. Kraft and Lurie emerged as potential owners who wanted to keep the franchise there. Kraft had the upper hand because he already owned the land and the stadium. It turned out well for both.”

Kraft bought the Patriots in Jan. 1994 for $175 million. Its estimated value now is nearly $4 billion.

Lurie bought the Eagles three months later for $195 million. Its estimated value now is nearly $3 billion.

Both Boston-bred, both from families familiar with the other, this Patriots bid and loss for Lurie was brutal. He found a passionate fan base in Philadelphia to build a team and a brand in his image.

But he has been chasing Kraft and the Patriots since.

The Eagles have never won a Super Bowl and last won an NFL title in 1960.

Lurie and the Eagles are simply one more pest for Kraft and the Patriots to slap away, one more bump in the road. Kraft and the Patriots are a quest for Lurie, a chance to make some past history more palatable.

It’s a “friendly” rivalry, sure.

It is much more. Kraft seeks the status quo, to be NFL king another day and eclipse Lurie once again. Lure seeks to rise and shred this cloud.

On Sunday night, when the winning owner lifts the Lombardi Trophy, you will see it in his eyes.

The affirmation and continued coronation for Kraft.

Or the relief and reckoning for Lurie.