HOF: Selectors on Bubble?

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We are still coming down from the high enjoyed at the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction of the 2026 Class in Canton last week.

Our congratulations again to the latest inductees — quarterback Drew Brees, fullback Roger Craig, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, linebacker Luke Kuechley and kicker Adam Vinatieri.

That is what it is all about, a fact shrouded recently by rules changes, criticism and the most acrimony in HOF history between the administration and the selection committee.

After a relatively harmonious relationship since the Hall’s inception in 1963, a perceptible split developed in this team two years ago and widened until the 2026 Class was announced last February 5. That is when fans, media and social media erupted in disbelief because coach Bill Belichick did not become a first ballot Hall of Famer.

But despite the rampant rancor, Belichick’s status was not the real problem; it was the inevitable result of the real problem. We will explain later.

Confronted by media and fans who demanded answers, HOF president Jim Porter implied the selectors were at fault and suggested changes might be made, including possibly releasing some of them.

We heard little-to-nothing from Porter since then, leaving 50 selectors asking each other if they know anything new. As we all wait in abeyance for the next move by the Hall, let’s take a closer look at the selectors — while they are still on board.

The selection committee is often referenced, but little else is explained about the makeup or experience of this group.

Since the inaugural class of 1963, 166 people served as Hall of Fame selectors, many of them among the most knowledgeable NFL reporters, experts and historians of their eras.

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Here is downloadable PDF list of all selectors since Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in 1963

(Since this list was created, Ross Ketover, NFL Films, was added as at-large)

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The committee that selected the Class of 2026 included 50 voters. Thirty-eight served at least 10 years on the committee; 16 served between 20 and 33 years. And those numbers measure only Hall service, not their larger football careers. Ten current selectors show an average of more than 50 years covering, studying and analyzing football.

Releasing veteran selectors would not merely change names on a roster. It would remove decades of institutional knowledge from a process that depended on it since 1963. Each year, selectors spend hours, days, weeks researching all aspects of NFL history with the goal of creating and maintaining the integrity of the Hall of Fame.

And that brings us back to the real problem. It was not Belichick, nor was it the selectors. It was the process the Hall put in place in 2024.

The new 2024 rule: The five Finalists from the Seniors, Coach and Contributor categories will be COMBINED into a group for voting by Selectors. No more than three (3) nor fewer than one (1) may be elected. As with the Modern-Era Players, approval from 80% of the Selectors is required for election. Selectors are allowed three votes on the group of five.

Previously, the five finalists, selected by their respective subcommittees, individually needed to get 80 percent thumbs up to be inducted. They were not considered head-to-head nor were the selectors limited to a number of votes. In the new setup, the probability of inducting more than one of the five is small. Several selectors told the Hall the numbers were prohibitive but the response was “we were told two or more finalists” can be inducted with this process.

We surveyed selectors regarding the new process. Thirty responded. Twenty-six expressed dissatisfaction with the 2024 changes, while 19 said they considered stepping away from the committee if changes were not made.

Within hours of hearing the new rules we wrote “Reality Check: Hall’s good intentions will have unintended consequences.” And indeed they did.

Waited = years from final participation to induction

We did not include 2020 because it was an expanded Centennial Class

Between 2021 and 2024 a total of 12 seniors, coaches and contributors were inducted, including seven seniors. In the last two classes, selected under the new rules, one senior player was inducted each year. One. No coaches. No contributors.

And, of course, no Belichick, whose induction would have been highly probable under the old thumbs up/down process. Instead he became a victim of the new system.

Porter saw it differently. Rather than question the system, he questioned how selectors used it.

“I’m not here to tell them who the most deserving is,” he said. “We just want the rules followed.”

Porter specifically took issue with one selector admitting he chose a senior over a coach because he thought the player had little chance of returning again as a finalist but the coach would probably be back soon.

“That’s not an option,” Porter said. “You have to pick the most deserving. Those are the instructions that were read four times. …There’s a responsibility there. The responsibility is to pick the most deserving. So my question is, is everybody picking the most deserving?”

Porter framed the term “most deserving” as if it appears in the By-laws. It does not.

The strongest substantive restriction is Section III.C:

“The only criteria for election to the Hall of Fame are a nominee’s achievements and contributions (positive or negative) as a Player, a Coach or a Contributor in professional football in the United States of America.”

So, again, we wait in abeyance — not only to see what changes the Hall may make, but whether written rules are applied as firmly as the unwritten ones it now invokes.

Meantime, we would like to say, as Belichick would, “On to 2027.”

But can we?

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