The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coaches, officials, franchise owners, and front-office personnel, almost all of whom made their primary contributions to the game in the National Football League (NFL). However, the Hall of Fame has no official affiliation with the NFL.
, there are a total of 387 members of the Hall of Fame. Between four and nine new inductees are normally enshrined every year. For the 2020 class, a 20-person group consisting of five modern-era players and an additional 15 members, known as the "Centennial Slate", were elected to the Hall of Fame to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the NFL.
The Chicago Bears have the most inductees, with 32 (41, including players with minor portion of their career with team). Canton is often used as shorthand or metonym for the Hall of Fame.
History
thumb|Original entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
thumb|Inside the original structure in 2008
The city of Canton, Ohio, successfully lobbied the NFL to have the Hall of Fame built in Canton, citing three reasons. First, the NFL was founded in Canton on September 17, , (at that time it was known as the American Professional Football Association). Second, the defunct Canton Bulldogs were a successful pro football team and the NFL's first repeat <!--NFL-->champion (in 1922 and 1923). Third, the Canton community held a fundraising effort that garnered nearly $400,000 () to get the Hall of Fame built. Groundbreaking for the building was held on August 11, 1962, and the Hall of Fame was opened to the public on September 7, 1963. In April , ground was broken for the first of many expansions. This first expansion cost $620,000, and was completed on May 10, .
The NFL Hall of Fame Village is centered around the Hall of Fame's campus, and its first phase includes a variety of attractions, such as an interactive museum, a large sports and entertainment complex, and a hotel. The village's centerpiece is the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company, which oversees the development and operation of the various amenities.
Future phases of the development are planned to include more sports venues, a sports medicine facility, an expanded convention center, and residential housing. Additionally, a significant feature of the project is the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, which serves as the home of the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game and other sporting events
In addition to drawing fans and visitors, the NFL Hall of Fame Village is also envisioned as a hub for sports technology, innovation, and education, providing a platform for collaboration among companies and organizations in the sports industry. The ongoing development is expected to create a lasting economic impact on Canton and the surrounding region.
Executive directors or presidents
- Dick McCann (April 4, 1962 – November 5, 1967)
- Dick Gallagher (April 1968 – December 31, 1975)
- Pete Elliott (February 1979 – October 31, 1996)
- John Bankert (November 1, 1996 – December 31, 2005)
- Steve Perry (April 24, 2006 – January 2014)
- David Baker (January 6, 2014 – October 16, 2021)
- Jim Porter (2021 – present)
Inductees
thumb|The Hall is made up of several sections with display of the inductees at its heart
, all players in the Hall, except Buffalo Bills guard Billy Shaw, played at least some part of their professional career in the NFL; Shaw played his entire career in the American Football League (AFL) prior to the 1970 AFL–NFL merger.
Though several Hall of Famers have had AFL, Canadian Football League (CFL), World Football League (WFL), United States Football League (USFL), Arena Football League (also AFL) and/or Indoor Football League (IFL) experience, and there is a division of the Hall devoted to alternative leagues such as these, to this point no player, coach or contributor have made the Hall without having made significant contributions to either the NFL, AFL, or All-America Football Conference (AAFC).
For CFL stars, there is a corresponding Canadian Football Hall of Fame; only one player, quarterback Warren Moon, and two coaches, Bud Grant and Marv Levy, are enshrined in both halls.
Again for the Arena Football League, there is also a corresponding Arena Football Hall of Fame; similarly, only one player, quarterback Kurt Warner, has been enshrined into both halls. The Indoor Football League, in which wide receiver Terrell Owens played one season, has also established its Hall of Fame.
The Chicago Bears have the most Hall of Famers among the league's franchises with either 40 or 32 enshrinees depending on whether players that only played a small portion of their careers with the team are counted.
Selection process
Selection Committee
Enshrinees are selected by a 50-person committee, largely made up of media members, officially known as the Selection Committee.
Each city that has a current NFL team sends one representative from the local media to the committee; a city with more than one franchise sends one representative for each franchise.
There are also 15 at-large delegates, including one representative from the Pro Football Writers Association. Except for the PFWA representative, who is appointed to a two-year term, all other appointments are open-ended, and terminated only by death, incapacitation, retirement, or resignation.
Voting procedure
thumb|[[Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium with the Hall of Fame in lower right]]
To be eligible for the nominating process, a player must have been retired for at least five years and coaches for one; any other contributor such as a team owner or executive can be voted in at any time.
Fans may nominate any player, coach or contributor by simply writing via letter or email to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Selection Committee is then polled three times by mail (once in March, once in September, and once in October) to eventually narrow the list to 25 semi-finalists. In November, the committee then selects 15 finalists by mail balloting.
A Seniors and Contributors Committee, subcommittees of the overall Selection Committee, nominate Seniors (those players who completed their careers more than 25 years ago) and Contributors (individuals who made contributions to the game in areas other than playing or coaching). The Seniors Committee and Contributors Committee add one or two finalist(s) on alternating years, which makes a final ballot of 18 finalists under consideration by the full committee each year. Committee members are instructed to only consider a candidate's professional football contributions and to disregard all other factors.
The Selection Committee then meets on "Selection Saturday", the day before each Super Bowl game to elect a new class. To be elected, a finalist must receive at least 80% support from the committee. At least four, but no more than nine, candidates are elected annually. On January 11, during the weekend of the NFL divisional playoffs, Hall of Fame president David Baker went on the set of The NFL Today to personally tell coach Bill Cowher, who was working as an analyst on that pregame show, that he was selected as one of the members of the Centennial Slate.
One day later, Baker went on the set of Fox NFL Sunday to inform coach Jimmy Johnson, working as an analyst on Fox's studio show, that he was also selected. The rest of the Centennial Slate members were revealed on January 15.
They were enshrined in 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic, but are still considered part of the Centennial Class of 2020.
Enshrinement ceremony
thumb|A football signed by the 1974 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement class
The enshrinement ceremony is the main event of the annual Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls that kicks off every NFL season. The celebration is held in Canton, throughout the week surrounding the enshrinement ceremony. All members of the Hall of Fame are invited to attend the annual ceremony.
Previous induction ceremonies were held during the next day (Sunday from 1999 to 2005, Saturday in 2006), situated on the steps of the Hall of Fame building.
Starting in 2002, the ceremony was moved to Fawcett Stadium (now Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium), where it was held from 1963 to 1965. Since 2007, the enshrinement ceremony has been held on the Saturday night, since 2017 two days after the Hall of Fame Game. In 2022, the ceremony was moved to noon ET.
Hall of Fame Game
The Hall of Fame Game, the annual NFL preseason opener, is played in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium at Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio. In 2017, the Hall of Fame Game was held for the first time on Thursday night. The preseason classic kicks off Enshrinement Week and marks the start of the NFL preseason.
Black College Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame museum includes a permanent exhibit recognizing the inductees of the Black College Football Hall of Fame. The two organizations partnered in 2016, also creating the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Ralph Hay Pioneer Award
The Ralph Hay Pioneer Award is an American football award given by the Pro Football Hall of Fame periodically to an individual who has made significant and innovative contributions to professional football. The award is named after Canton Bulldogs owner and National Football League founder and chief organizer Ralph Hay. It was originally called the Daniel F. Reeves Pioneer Award, named after Los Angeles Rams owner and hall of fame inductee Dan Reeves. The award is the highest and the most prestigious honor given by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, other than enshrinement. As of 2026, Steve Sabol, Art McNally, Marion Motley and Bill Willis are the only people to receive the award and also become a Hall of Fame inductee.
Honorees
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| style="background-color:#FFFF99; width:3em"|
|Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Year
!Recipient
!Notability
!class=unsortable|Note(s)
|-
|align="center" |1972
|align="center" |
|Designer of the first football helmet logo
|
|-
|align="center" |1975
|align="center" |
|Founder of the Chicago College All-Star Game and All-America Football Conference
|
|-
|align="center" |1986
|align="center" |
|Voice of NFL Films
|Awarded the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in 2021
|-
|align="center" |1992
|align="center" |
|Photographer, artist, and logo designer
|
|-
|align="center" |2001
|align="center" |
|Groundskeeper at Arrowhead Stadium
|
|-
|align="center" |2004
|align="center" |City of Pottsville, Pennsylvania
|Birthplace of the Anthracite League and Pottsville Maroons
|
|-
|align="center" |2007
|align="center" bgcolor="#FFFF99"|
|Co-founder of NFL Films
|Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2020
|-
|align="center" |2012
|align="center" bgcolor="#FFFF99"|
|Supervisor of officials for the NFL and World League, 1968–95
|Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2022
|-
|align="center" |2016
|align="center" |
|50-year employee of the NFL central office
|
|-
|rowspan="4" align="center" |2022
|align="center" bgcolor="#FFFF99"|
| rowspan="4" |Reintegrated professional football in 1946
|Inducted to the Hall of Fame 1968
|-
|align="center" |
|
|-
|align="center" |
|
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#FFFF99"|
|Inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1977
|}
Criticism
thumb|Sign at the old entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The small number of candidates elected each year has helped foster what some perceive as an inequality of representation at certain positions or in certain categories of player, to the exclusion of defensive players in general (defensive backs and outside linebackers in particular), special teams players, wide receivers, and those from the "seniors" category. There has also been criticism that deserving players have been overlooked because they played most or all of their careers on poor teams.
In 2009, a New York Times article criticized the Hall for not including punter Ray Guy on its ballot. Guy was eventually inducted as part of the 2014 class for the Hall of Fame.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is unique among North American major league sports halls of fame in that officials have been generally excluded. Only two figures, both inducted for their work as supervisor or director of officiating as opposed to game officiating—1966 inductee Hugh "Shorty" Ray and 2022 inductee Art McNally—have been enshrined; McNally is the only inductee in the Hall to have experience as an in-game official. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Hockey Hall of Fame have each inducted game officials as members.
Another prominent absence from the Hall is sports-journalist and broadcaster Howard Cosell, who has yet to either be awarded the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award or even get fully inducted despite his well-known association with Monday Night Football; an August 2010 Sports Illustrated article hints that Cosell may have even been "blacklisted" by the NFL.
As the late 2010s approached, a number of controversial and polarizing figures began to reach eligibility for the Hall. For example, Darren Sharper's career achievements make him a candidate for the Hall, but there is debate over whether he should be inducted due to his conviction on multiple rape and drug distribution charges after he retired. Official guidelines state that off the field character issues are not allowed to influence the selection process while Owens was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018, he refused to attend the enshrinement ceremony.
In 2026, significant controversy ensued when it was reported that coach Bill Belichick was not inducted into the Hall in his first year of eligibility. Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl champion as a head coach and the holder of several other records, is considered one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. However, analysts cited Belichick's alleged involvement in the Spygate and Deflategate scandals as possible reasons for exclusion.
See also
- List of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
- Arena Football Hall of Fame
- Canadian Football Hall of Fame
- College Football Hall of Fame
- Indoor Football League Hall of Fame