Does the Hall of Fame Nominate individuals?
The Hall of Fame receives nominations but does not make them. Any person, including the elite members of the Selection Committee, may nominate any eligible players, coaches or contributors.
What Happens After Someone is Nominated as a Modern-Era Player?
A nomination is NOT a vote for election. The Hall of Fame’s selection process includes multiple steps in which the nominees are scrutinized. The Hall facilitates the procedure of reviewing candidates with the Selection Committee. Following a screening process that reduces the original list of nominees (typlically in excess of 150) to 50 (plus ties), the Selection Committee reduces the list to 25 Semifinalists, followed by a later vote to reduce to 15 Finalists. At the annual meeting shortly before the Super Bowl, the Finalists are scrutinized even further by the Selectors, who after a thorough discussion of each Finalist, will reduce the list from 15 to 10, then 10 to 7. At that point, the Selectors cast their final ballot -- choosing five of the seven remaining Finalists. Those who receive at least 80% favorable votes will be elected, with a maximum of five and no fewer than three. (Should fewer than three Finalists receive 80% favorable voting, the Finalist(s) closest to that figure would be elected.)
Who Selects New Hall of Fame Members?
The Pro Football Hall of Fame's Selection Committee is charged with the vital task of continuing to ensure that new enshrinees are the finest the game has produced. [Pro Football Hall of Fame's Selection Process/List of Selection Committee members]
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 can be up to 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 reviewed annually and approved by a majority vote of the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors.
The Selection Committee meets annually shortly before the Super Bowl to elect new members of the Hall of Fame. There is no set number of new enshrinees, but the Committee’s current ground rules do stipulate that between four and eight members could be selected each year. Every candidate is thoroughly reviewed and must receive approval from at least 80% of the full Committee to be elected.
How Are New Enshrinees Selected?
Any fan may nominate any Player, Coach or Contributor who has been connected with pro football simply by writing to the Pro Football Hall of Fame at 2121 George Halas Drive NW, Canton, OH 44702. The only restriction is that a player must have been retired at least five years before he (or she) can be considered. Coaches must have been out of the game for at least one season. There is no mandatory retirement period for a contributor before he (or she) may be considered. Every nomination of an eligible candidate received will be processed and forwarded to the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee.
Each year, the Selection Committee will be polled multiple times before the final lists of nominees for Modern-Era Players and Seniors are determined. The Initial Preliminary List of nominations is compiled and sent to the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee so the Selectors can study the nominees and request the addition of any other candidates who might have been overlooked. Included on these lists are first-time eligible candidates who have strong enough credentials to give them even a remote chance of eventual Hall of Fame election. Also included are all other eligible candidates nominated by any person. Additionally, those Modern-Era Player Nominees from the previous year’s final preliminary list who received at least four votes in the balloting to determine the Modern-Era Player Finalists automatically are included on that preliminary list.
The Second Preliminary Lists are sent to the Selectors and includes all the nominees named on the initial list plus any additional nominations received from any source since the first list was compiled.
The Final Preliminary Lists of eligible candidates then are sent to two separate Screening Committees for review and reduction to 50 nominees each. The reduced list of Modern-Era Players then is sent to the full Selection Committee for the purpose of a reduction vote to 25 Semifinalists.
The 25 Modern-Era Players Semifinalists (plus ties, if any) for the 25th position) shall be distributed to the Selection Committee during the month of November for the purpose of the selection of 15 Modern-Era Players Finalists. The 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th Finalists for the next class are the recommended candidates of the Coach (1 Finalist), Contributor (1) and Seniors (3) Blue-Ribbon Committees.
In advance of the Hall of Fame selection meeting, the Selectors are provided detailed biographies on each of the 20 Finalists. At the annual meeting, each Finalist is thoroughly discussed by the committee before a series of reduction votes are taken. First, the Coach, Contributor and Seniors Finalists are discussed and voted on for election as a combined group. Selectors may choose three. Each must receive the same 80% affirmative vote as the Modern-Era Player Finalists to be elected. Next, there is a vote that reduces the Modern-Era Player Finalists list from 15 to 10. Following that, a vote is taken to reduce the list from 10 to 7 names. Selectors then cast their final vote -- choosing five of the seven remaining Modern-Era Players for Hall of Fame election. To become elected, a Finalist must receive 80% affirmative votes.
All ballots are collected and counted by an accounting firm, which at this time is Ernst & Young LLP. No vote totals are announced – only the winners of the various reduction ballots are revealed to the Selectors and the Hall’s representatives.
How are Coach, Contributor and Seniors Candidates Chosen?
To assure that older players, whose active careers have been completed at least 25 years, as well as coaches, who have not coached for at least one season, and those individuals who contributed to the game in ways other than playing and coaching, will be considered along with the Modern-Era Players candidates, a Coach Blue-Ribbon Committee, a Contributor Blue-Ribbon Committee and a Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee have been established. Each of these committees is made up of 9 members, most who also are members of the overall Selection Committee.
Members of the Selection Committee are provided a preliminary list of eligible nominees. The list, which is compiled and sent to the Selectors, includes carry-over nominations from the previous year, first-time eligible candidates and nominations from any outside source.
Selectors are polled multiple times before the final lists of Coach nominees and Contributor nominees are determined. The respective Blue-Ribbon Committees will reduce its list of nominees in those categories to nine (9) Semifinalists each in the fall. In October, the Coach Blue-Ribbon Committee and the Contributor Blue-Ribbon Committee will hold their annual meetings to put forward one name each for consideration as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee follows the same procedures and timeline as the Coach and Contributor committees, but it may recommend up to 3 candidates for election to the Hall each year.
In advance of the committee meetings, Selectors are provided with detailed biographical information on the candidates.
Although the Coach, Contributor and Seniors Finalists will be presented to the full Selection Committee, their election to the Hall of Fame is not automatic until the full committee meets and votes. A maximum of three candidates from the combined Coach, Contributor and Seniors categories may be elected in any one year, and each must receive a minimum 80% of the vote.
Is a New Hall of Fame Member Enshrined as a Member of a Team?
Obviously, teams take great pride in the accomplishments of individuals who have been a part of their organization. Often, individual teams and even the Hall of Fame will list enshrinees according to the team or teams on which they spent a significant period of time. An enshrinee, however, is not asked to “declare,” nor does the Hall of Fame “choose” a team under which a new member is enshrined. When elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, an individual is recognized for accomplishments as a Player, Coach or Contributor.