The Pro Football Hall of Fame class in Canton this summer will include new inductees, but reports indicate Bill Belichick and Eli Manning likely won\u2019t be among them.<\/p>\n
Belichick was the lone coaching finalist on this year\u2019s ballot, facing off with contributor finalist Robert Kraft and senior nominees Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood. Hall of Fame election is decided by a 50-member selection committee; a candidate must receive 80% of the vote (at least 40 votes) to be elected, and each committee member can vote for up to three finalists.<\/p>\n
Eli Manning is part of a stacked group of modern-era finalists that includes quarterbacks Drew Brees, receivers Larry Fitzgerald, Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne, tight end Jason Witten, running back Frank Gore, guard Jahri Evans and at least one prominent offensive tackle. The broader modern-era field (15 finalists total) also features names like guard\/tackle Marshall Yanda, defensive tackle Kevin Williams, edge rusher Terrell Suggs, linebacker Luke Kuechly and safety Darren Woodson; kicker Adam Vinatieri is the specialist among them.<\/p>\n
Up to five modern-era finalists can receive invitations in a single year, so the Hall class usually ends up between four and eight members.<\/p>\n
Before the official announcement on Thursday, Feb. 5, here\u2019s a closer look at the frontrunners.<\/p>\n
Virtual locks: Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald
\nIt\u2019s surprising both Brees and Fitzgerald weren\u2019t elected earlier. Brees retired as one of the NFL\u2019s all-time passing leaders \u2014 finishing his career near the top in both yards (80,353) and touchdowns (571), now behind only Tom Brady \u2014 and he also earned Super Bowl MVP in New Orleans\u2019 2009 title run. Fitzgerald ranks second only to Jerry Rice in career receptions (1,432) and receiving yards (17,492) and sits among the top scorers in touchdown catches; while he never won a Super Bowl, he was a key part of Arizona\u2019s deep 2008 playoff run.<\/p>\n
Next tier: Gore, Kuechly, Suggs, Vinatieri, Witten
\nFrank Gore and Jason Witten are both first-time eligibles with strong resumes. Gore climbed into the top three on the all-time rushing list (16,000 yards), trailing only Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton. Kuechly dominated defensively during his eight-season career before injuries curtailed it \u2014 a trajectory that drew comparisons to Patrick Willis, who waited several years for enshrinement. Terrell Suggs ranks among the career leaders in sacks (139), has a Defensive Player of the Year award and a Super Bowl ring. Witten is second all-time among tight ends in receptions (1,228) and receiving yards (13,046), behind Tony Gonzalez. Adam Vinatieri\u2019s case is also compelling: the NFL\u2019s all-time leading scorer with multiple Super Bowl-winning kicks, including clutch, game-deciding field goals in postseason conditions fans still talk about.<\/p>\n
The rest of the field
\nReggie Wayne and Torry Holt are longtime finalists whose vote totals have often seemed to offset each other. Ken Anderson and Darren Woodson are among the longest-waiting finalists \u2014 Anderson as an offensive lineman (a position that often gets overlooked) and Woodson as a safety, another role sometimes undervalued by voters; Woodson remains the Dallas Cowboys\u2019 all-time tackle leader. Senior finalists like Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood bring historic achievements: Craig was the first NFL player to post 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season and played on three championship teams, while Greenwood was a key member of Pittsburgh\u2019s \u201cSteel Curtain\u201d defense that helped the Steelers win four Super Bowls.<\/p>\n
Contributor and senior finalist outlook
\nAt least one person is typically inducted from the senior and contributor categories some years, and Robert Kraft \u2014 the owner who has six Super Bowl rings to his name \u2014 is considered a strong candidate for induction. Meanwhile, senior finalists such as Greenwood have powerful historical cases that could lead to posthumous honors.<\/p>\n
2026 Hall of Fame class prediction
\n– QB Drew Brees
\n– WR Larry Fitzgerald
\n– LB Luke Kuechly
\n– Contributor Robert Kraft
\n– DL L.C. Greenwood<\/p>\n
Brees and Fitzgerald appear likely to be first-ballot inductees, and Kuechly seems overdue for enshrinement. Kraft looks poised to be honored from the contributor ranks this year, while Belichick will probably have to wait longer; among senior nominees, Greenwood could very well be voted in for his role in one of the game\u2019s great defenses.<\/p>\n
Fan Take: This ballot highlights the tension between modern-era superstars and historic contributors \u2014 fans get to celebrate recent icons like Brees and Fitzgerald while also acknowledging figures whose impact was foundational, like Kraft and Greenwood. How the Hall balances those choices matters because it shapes the narrative of NFL history and what accomplishments future generations will view as Hall-worthy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Pro Football Hall of Fame class in Canton this summer will include new inductees, but reports indicate Bill Belichick and Eli Manning likely won\u2019t be among them. Belichick was the lone coaching finalist on this year\u2019s ballot, facing off with contributor finalist Robert Kraft and senior nominees Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[859],"tags":[860],"class_list":{"0":"post-40028","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-nfl"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}