image: Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers | 2026 Hall of Fame Game

Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers | 2026 Hall of Fame Game

Aug 06, 2026 | 08:00 PM - 11:30 PM
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The NFL's 107th season kicks off in Canton!

The 2026 season will kick off in Canton on Thursday, Aug. 6, when the Arizona Cardinals play host to the Carolina Panthers in the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game presented by Novartis at 8 p.m. ET inside Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. 

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LARRY FITZGERALD (Cardinals) and LUKE KUECHLY (Panthers) spent their entire careers with the teams that drafted them. They and fellow members of the Class of 2026 presented by Visual Edge IT – DREW BREES, ROGER CRAIG and ADAM VINATIERI – will be recognized on the field during pregame activities.

Under first-year head coach Mike LaFleur, the Cardinals have been designated as the game’s home team. Arizona’s offense is led by first-team All-Pro Trey McBride, whose 126 receptions in 2025 set the NFL’s single-season record for a tight end, while safety Budda Baker, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, continues to lead the Cardinals’ defense.

Dave Canales, now in his third year as head coach, led the Panthers to an 8-9 record last season, the NFC South crown and a home playoff game – a narrow 34-31 loss to the Rams. Quarterback Bryce Young passed for more than 3,000 yards and 23 touchdowns – seven to wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, the 2025 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The teams played each other in Week 2 of the 2025 regular season at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. The Cardinals built a 27-3 lead and survived a late Panthers rally to hang on, 27-22.

This will be the sixth trip to Canton for the Cardinals, who have posted a 1-3-1 record in their previous appearances. The franchise, at the time based in St. Louis, holds the distinction of participating in the first Hall of Fame Game – played Aug. 11, 1962, more than a year before the museum opened. The Cardinals and New York Giants finished in a 21-21 tie, one of only two ties in the history of the game.

Carolina has not played in the Hall of Fame Game since the Panthers debuted in the NFL in 1995, playing fellow expansion franchise Jacksonville. In one of the most exciting Hall of Fame Games, the Panthers held the Jaguars out of the end zone from the 3-yard line in the final seconds to prevail 20-14. A crowd of 24,625 – one of the largest in the game’s history – attended the contest in Fawcett Stadium, the predecessor of Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

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