News

(official Hall Of Fame release) 2-5-26

PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME TO ENSHRINE
FIVE FORMER PLAYERS IN CLASS OF 2026
CEREMONY SCHEDULED FOR AUG. 8 IN CANTON

CANTON, OHIO – Five former players have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026. The Hall’s 50-person Selection Committee met virtually in January to conduct its annual vote. The Class of 2026 presented by Visual Edge IT was announced during “NFL Honors, presented by Invisalign,” a two-hour primetime awards special broadcast from the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on NBC and NFL Network and streamed on Peacock and NFL+.

The newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame are quarterback DREW BREES, running back ROGER CRAIG, wide receiver LARRY FITZGERALD, linebacker LUKE KUECHLY and placekicker ADAM VINATIERI.

Craig was among the Finalists in the combined Seniors/Coach/Contributor group; the others came through the Modern-Era Players category.

Brees, Craig and Vinatieri learned of their election when another Hall of Famer knocked on the door of their homes. Fitzgerald and Kuechly experienced a “reverse knock” – showing up at a site where a Hall of Famer was waiting to deliver the news. Those encounters can be seen Saturday, Feb. 7, when NFL Network debuts a one-hour special “Hall of Fame Knocks: Class of 2026” at 10 p.m. ET.

The Hall of Famers who delivered the news to the new class members were:
• DAN FOUTS, who like Drew Brees played quarterback for the San Diego Chargers.
• RONNIE LOTT and CHARLES HALEY, teammates of Roger Craig’s with the 49ers.
• RANDY MOSS, an early influence on a young Larry Fitzgerald as a member of the Vikings.
• JULIUS PEPPERS, a pro teammate of Luke Kuechly’s with the Panthers.
• MORTEN ANDERSEN, holder of the NFL scoring record until current leader Adam Vinatieri surpassed him.

The annual selection meeting capped the lengthy 2026 selection process. The newly elected Hall of Famers were chosen from a list of 20 Finalists that had been determined over the past several months by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee; three smaller committees that
narrowed the respective lists in the separate Coach, Contributor and Seniors categories; and two screening committees that initially pared the massive list of nominees in the Modern-Era Players and Seniors categories.

This final step in the selection process for the Class of 2026 was completed with oversight from the firm Ernst & Young LLP, a Hall partner since 2019. EY’s Agreed-Upon Procedures included validating the completeness of the ballots and tabulating the ballots in accordance with the bylaws
established by the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors.

The Hall of Fame’s membership, including the newly elected class, now stands at 387.

The Class of 2026 presented by Visual Edge IT will be enshrined Saturday, Aug. 8, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. Enshrinement tickets will go on sale in the coming weeks. Weekend packages are available now from On Location. (See below for more information).

PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2026

DREW BREES

Times as Finalist: 1 | Year of Eligibility: 1

Position: Quarterback
Ht.: 6-0, Wt.: 209

NFL Career: 2001-05 San Diego Chargers,
2006-2020 New Orleans Saints
Seasons: 20, Games: 287
College: Purdue

Drafted: 2nd Round (32nd Overall), 2001
Born: Jan. 15, 1979, in Austin, Texas

ROGER CRAIG

Times as Finalist: 3 | Year of Eligibility: 28

Position: Running Back
Ht.: 6-0, Wt.: 222

NFL Career: 1983-1990 San Francisco 49ers,
1991 Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-93 Minnesota Vikings

Seasons: 11, Games: 165
College: Nebraska

Drafted: 2nd Round (49th Overall), 1983
Born: July 10, 1960, in Preston, Miss.

LARRY FITZGERALD
Times as Finalist: 1 | Year of Eligibility: 1
Position: Wide Receiver
Ht.: 6-3, Wt.: 218

NFL Career: 2004-2020 Arizona Cardinals
Seasons: 17, Games: 263
College: Pittsburgh

Drafted: 1st Round (3rd Overall), 2004
Born: Aug. 31, 1983, in Minneapolis

LUKE KUECHLY

Times as Finalist: 2 | Year of Eligibility: 2

Position: Linebacker
Ht.: 6-3, Wt.: 238

NFL Career: 2012-2019 Carolina Panthers
Seasons: 8, Games: 118
College: Boston College
Drafted: 1st Round (9th Overall), 2012
Born: April 20, 1991, in Cincinnati, Ohio

ADAM VINATIERI
Times as Finalist: 2 | Year of Eligibility: 2

Position: Kicker
Ht.: 6-0, Wt.: 212

NFL Career: 1996-2005 New England Patriots, 2006-2019 Indianapolis Colts

Seasons: 24, Games: 365
College: South Dakota State
Drafted: Undrafted
Born: Dec. 28, 1972, in Yankton, S.D.

SELECTION PROCESS
Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri were elected from the Modern-Era Players pool of candidates that began the Class of 2026 cycle with 128 nominees who last played professional football in the 2020 season. That list was reduced three times (to 52 nominees, 26
Semifinalists and 15 Finalists) before the annual selection meeting.

The other Finalists this year were Willie Anderson, Jahri Evans, Frank Gore, Torry Holt, Eli Manning, Terrell Suggs, Reggie Wayne, Kevin Williams, Jason Witten, Darren Woodson and Marshal Yanda.

During the selection meeting, the list of 15 Finalists was cut to 10, then to 7 before the final vote. In that final vote, a maximum of five and minimum of three individuals could have been elected to the new class, each needing 80% approval from the selectors, who could cast a ballot for five of the
remaining seven. By reaching the final 7 but not getting elected (falling short of 80% approval), Anderson, Suggs and Yanda automatically advance to the Finalist stage for the Class of 2027 under the Hall of Fame’s bylaws for the selection process.

Roger Craig was elected from a second pool of five candidates that included the Finalists chosen by the Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee (Craig, Ken Anderson and L.C. Greenwood), Coach Blue-Ribbon Committee (Bill Belichick) and Contributor Blue-Ribbon Committee (Robert Kraft). Under the Hall’s bylaws, from one to three individuals could have been elected from this group; only Craig reached the required voting threshold.

ENSHRINEMENT WEEK PRESENTED BY NOVARTIS
The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 will be enshrined in Canton in August. The week’s events will include:
• Thursday, Aug. 6: Hall of Fame Game presented by Novartis (teams to be determined)
• Friday, Aug. 7: Enshrinees’ Gold Jacket Dinner presented by Haggar
• Saturday, Aug. 8: Class of 2026 Enshrinement
• Sunday, Aug. 9: Concert for Legends featuring Lainey Wilson
For more information, visit www.profootballhof.com/enshrinement/.