Bill Belichick has rarely reacted publicly to comments made about him by Patriots owner Robert Kraft since the two men parted ways 18 months ago after a remarkable 24-year NFL dynasty in New England.

But on the heels of recent comments by Kraft that he took a “big risk” by hiring Belichick in 1999, Belichick responded in a statement to ESPN that it was he who took a “big risk” by joining a flailing franchise with few resources that was $10 million over the salary cap.

“As I told Robert multiple times through the years, I took a big risk by taking the New England Patriots head coaching job,” Belichick told ESPN in response to questions. “I already had an opportunity to be the Head Coach of the New York Jets, but the ownership situation was unstable.”

Belichick said he was urged by scores of people to reject Kraft’s offer and remain with the Jets, who had just hired him, despite the instability.

“I had been warned by multiple previous Patriots’ coaches, as well as other members of other NFL organizations and the media, that the New England job was going to come with many internal obstacles,” Belichick said. “I made it clear that we would have to change the way the team was managed to regain the previously attained success.”

Asked during a recent appearance to name his best decision in three decades as Patriots owner, Kraft immediately mentioned his decision in 1999 to hire Belichick — and the “big risk” he took to do so.

“The one that got questioned the most was in 1999,” Kraft said on the “Dudes on Dudes” podcast co-hosted by Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski last month at Fanatics Fest.

“I gave up a No. 1 draft pick for a coach that had only won a little over 40% of his games to get him out,” Kraft said. “I don’t know if there are any Jets fans here. I think getting Bill Belichick to come to the Patriots in 1999 was a big risk, and I got hammered in the Boston area, but he was with us for 24 years.”

“And we did OK,” Kraft added, wryly.

A certain first-ballot Hall of Famer, Belichick compiled a 266-121 record with the Patriots, won 17 AFC East titles, appeared 13 times in the AFC Championship Game and won a record six Super Bowl titles.

Belichick declined to name the previous coaches he said had warned him to stay away from New England. One was likely Bill Parcells, Belichick’s mentor and former boss who criticized Kraft’s outsized role in personnel decisions after he left the Patriots in 1996.

Belichick also did not detail the “many internal obstacles” he faced when first working for Kraft. One was a 2000 Patriots team that was $10 million over the salary cap. For the Patriots, exceeding the cap was an anomaly; New England ranks 31st out of 32 teams in spending since the NFL instituted the salary cap in 1994, a challenge Belichick overcame as coach through ruthless management of the roster.

During his first season in New England, Belichick released several high-paid players whom he had inherited, including offensive tackle Bruce Armstrong, guard Todd Rucci, defensive tackle Henry Thomas and tight end Ben Coates. That season, the Patriots finished 5-11. But during his second campaign, in 2001, Belichick benched Drew Bledsoe for Tom Brady and the Patriots went on to clinch their first Super Bowl title.

“I appreciated Robert giving me the opportunity to make those changes and build a program that was consistent with my vision for a championship team,” Belichick told ESPN.

Asked by ESPN why he felt Kraft made statements now that hiring him was “a big risk,” Belichick said, “You’ll have to ask Robert.”

Patriots spokesman Stacey James did not respond to questions from ESPN and said Kraft could not be reached for comment.

Belichick has been largely silent during Kraft’s intensifying, multifront effort to burnish his legacy as team owner. Kraft, 84, is entering the 14th year of a campaign by his supporters to secure him induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In describing why hiring Belichick amounted to “a big risk,” Kraft highlighted his tenure as Cleveland Browns coach, saying he had won “a little over 40% of his games.” (Belichick’s record in Cleveland from 1991 to 1995 was 36-44, a .450 winning percentage.)

Kraft did not detail Belichick’s run of success across a decade as one of the most dominant defensive coordinators in NFL history, starting with the New York Giants for Parcells on two Super Bowl-winning teams. After leaving Cleveland, Belichick reunited with Parcells in New England in 1996, and they took the Patriots to the Super Bowl, which New England lost to the Green Bay Packers. From 1997 to 1999, Belichick worked for Parcells as defensive coordinator on a Jets team that played in the 1998 AFC Championship Game but lost to the Denver Broncos.

“The Jets were a solid team after three years of rebuilding under Bill Parcells, which included an AFC Championship Game appearance in [January] 1999,” Belichick told ESPN. “Meanwhile, the Patriots Organization had dismantled their 1996 AFC Championship team and became one of the worst in the AFC. It didn’t help that they were $10 million over the cap heading into my first season as Head Coach in 2000.”

Belichick, who this fall will begin his first season as a college coach at North Carolina, is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the first time this winter.

In the spring, Kraft announced that Parcells would be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame as a contributor. Last year, Brady entered the Patriots Hall of Fame.

Belichick, 73, is still not a member of the Patriots Hall of Fame.