Becoming a Hall of Famer

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee, which can be up to 50 persons, is charged with the vital task of continuing to be sure that new enshrinees are the finest the game has produced (see list below).

FAQ about the Hall's selection process

The Committee consists of one media representative from each pro football city — with two from New York and two from Los Angeles, as those cities each have two teams in the National Football League. There are 17 at-large Selectors, who are active members of the media or persons intricately involved in professional football, and one representative of the Pro Football Writers of America.

All appointments are open-ended and approved annually by a majority vote of the Hall of Fame's Board of Trustees. The Selection Committee meets annually in advance of the Super Bowl to elect new members. There is no set number for any class of enshrinees, but the Committee's current ground rules do stipulate that between four and eight new members will be selected each year. Every candidate is carefully scrutinized and must receive at least 80% approval of the Selection Committee at the annual meeting before he can be elected. A scale of negative votes for elimination that will vary depending on the number of Selectors in attendance that is used.

When the Selectors meet to name the newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, they will have before them a roster of up to 20 Finalists, along with detailed biographies on each. The Finalists include 15 Modern-Era Player Nominees, one Coach Nominee, one Contributor Nominee and up to three Seniors Nominees. The Coach, Contributor and Seniors Finalists are selected by 9-person committees appointed from the full Selection Committee.

The Coach, Contributor and Seniors Finalists are voted on for election independent of the Modern-Era Player Finalists. Up to three of the five in the combined pool of candidates could be elected. Like all nominees, Coach, Contributor and Seniors Nominees must also receive 80% approval of the overall Selection Committee for election.

The provision allowing for one Coach, one Contributor and up to three Seniors Nominee was approved by the Hall's Board of Directors in 2024, becoming eeffective with the Class of 2025.

The other Finalists will be the survivors from a preliminary list of candidates the full Selection Committee will have screened by online balloting. Any fan may nominate any qualified person who has been connected with pro football in any capacity simply by writing to the Pro Football Hall of Fame at 2121 George Halas Drive NW, Canton, OH 44708. The only restriction is that a player could have last played at least five seasons before he can be considered. For example, a candidate for the Class of 2026 must have concluded his career no later than the 2020 season. Coaches must be retired from pro football for a full season before becoming a candidate.

There is no mandatory retirement period for a Contributor. Senior candidates are those players whose careers ended at least 25 years ago. Every nomination received will be processed and forwarded to the Selection Committee.

It is important to emphasize that the Hall of Fame itself has no say whatsoever as to who is or is not elected to membership. The only function of the staff is to process the nominations as they arrive and to coordinate the annual meeting.

* Member of the Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee (Also John Turney and Ron Wolf)
^ Member of the Contributor Blue-Ribbon Committee (Also Ken Crippen)
# Member of the Coach Blue-Ribbon Committee (Also Bob Glauber and Peter King)