Policy on Posthumous HOFers

“The Pro Football Hall of Fame is dedicated to honoring the careers and legacies of every Hall of Famer including Ken Stabler who was recently enshrined as a member of the Class of 2016. Throughout its 53-year history, it has been the policy of the Hall of Fame that the Hall of Fame Ring and Gold Jacket are revered icons (like the bronzed bust) that are given to a Hall of Famer to wear as symbols of his enshrinement into this most exclusive fraternity.
 
The policy was reviewed this past summer at the request of the Stabler family and it was decided that an exception to this long-standing policy would not be appropriate.
 
Hall of Fame icons are sacred specifically to Hall of Famers and should not, to the greatest extent possible, be diminished by potentially being the subject of a family dispute.
 
The Hall of Fame spends countless hours and other resources and works very hard (along with thousands of volunteers) to host the families of posthumous Hall of Famers at the annual Enshrinement celebration in Canton.  In addition, the Hall of Fame presents to the family a memorial medallion and the encased crest of the Hall of Fame that would have been on the Hall of Famer’s Gold Jacket.
 
The Hall of Fame remains dedicated to preserving the legacy of Ken Stabler in Canton, Ohio forever as a way to serve as great inspiration to future generations of fans.”