Pro Football Hall of Fame features yearlong 'Character' exhibit in 2025

Artifacts, programming highlight museum’s emphasis on promoting the values learned while playing sport

Helping to fulfill its mission to promote the values taught through playing the game of football, the Pro Football Hall of Fame has opened a new exhibit titled “Character, presented by McRae-Janson.”

Using artifacts, some newly acquired, along with multimedia storytelling and programming, the museum will enhance fans’ understanding and appreciation of where the game and the character traits demonstrated while playing it at the highest levels intersect.

A ribbon-cutting for the new exhibit took place Jan. 10. Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame were among the special guests on hand for the opening.

“The first two pillars of the Hall’s mission statement to ‘Honor the Greatest of the Game’ and ‘Preserve its History’ are relatively straight-forward and the bread and butter of the museum,” said Jim Porter, the Hall of Fame’s president and CEO. “But it’s that third pillar — to ‘Promote its Values’ — where you truly can find what makes football such a special sport.”

“If values like courage, commitment, respect and integrity aren’t woven into the fabric of a team’s players, then those teams generally will not be successful. The Hall this year will shine a special spotlight on how these core values have been demonstrated across the game’s history — on and off the field — and continue to teach important lessons today,” Porter said.

The centerpiece of the Character exhibit is a large footprint devoted to the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, the most coveted individual honor in the National Football League. The display features an acknowledgement of past winners, several of whom are enshrined in Canton, along with artifacts related to WALTER PAYTON himself, PEYTON MANNING, JASON TAYLOR and LaDAINIAN TOMLINSON.

On-field character is reflected in stories and artifacts related to overcoming adversity, with BRYANT YOUNG, Tom Dempsey and Brandon Burlsworth as some examples.

The off-field character of military veterans Rocky Bleier, Pat Tillman and EMLEN TUNNELL, and the heroism of Joe Delaney, is represented.

Throughout the museum, guests are provided with the opportunity to learn more about 21 special points of interest connecting character to the sport.

Programming and events in 2025 around the Character exhibit will be integrated with the second year of the Hall of Fame’s Residency Program, which is expected to bring nearly 40 enshrinees back to Canton. Several thousand students will experience the exhibit and related educational elements through field trip opportunities.

Guests can see the Character exhibit as part of their regular admission to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Doors are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day until summer hours take effect during the Memorial Day weekend.

Get more information and plan a visit here.