Selection Process

Charged with the vital task of continuing to be sure that new enshrinees are the finest the game has produced is the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Selection Committee (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, inasmuch as that city has two teams in the National Football League. A 33rd member is a representative of the Pro Football Writers of America, and there are up to 17 at-large delegates.

With the exception of the PFWA representative, who is appointed for a two-year term, all appointments are reviewed annually and approved by the Pro Football 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 to be enshrined the following summer. There is no set number for any class of enshrinees, but the Committee's current bylaws stipulate that between four and eight new members could be elected each year. The 1973 and 1976 classes of three were the smallest named.

Every candidate is carefully scrutinized and must receive at least 80% approval of the Committee at the annual meeting before he or she can be elected.

When the Selectors meet to name the Class of 2025, they will have before them a roster of up to 20 Finalists as candidates, along with detailed biographies on each. To assure that older players will be considered, a Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee -- made up of 9 members, most from the overall Selection Committee -- will have chosen up to three nominees who played no more recently than the 1999 season to be included on the final list. 

A bylaws change to the selection process was approved by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors in early 2024 by which a Contributor – defined as an individual who has “made outstanding contributions to professional football in capacities other than playing or coaching” – will be considered in a category distinct from the Coaches, who will be in their own category. From 2022-24, the Coach/Contributor Finalist came from a combined category and was voted on for election independent of all other Finalists. Beginning with the Class of 2025, a 9-person Coach Blue-Ribbon Committee and a separate 9-person Contributor Blue-Ribbon Committee will meet and select one Finalist each for the new class. 

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. The only restriction is that a player and coach must have last played or coached at least five seasons before he can be considered, and players must have received at least one generally recognized postseason honor. (All-Pro team, Pro Bowl invitation, annual award from The Associated Press, as examples.) A candidate for the 2025 class must have concluded his career not later than the 2019 season.

There is no mandatory retirement period for a Contributor. Coaches must be out of the game for one season.

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 members of this committee are John Turney and Ron Wolf
# Member of the Coach Blue-Ribbon Committee ... Also members of this committee are Peter King and Pat Kirwan
^ Member of the Contributor Blue-Ribbon Committee ... Also members of this committee are John Czarnecki and Ken Crippen