Class of 2025 featured exhibit on display at Pro Football Hall of Fame
Exhibits
Published on : 5/24/2025
An Emmy Award, a lasso, a size 15E purple cleat and a state of Wisconsin license plate are among the artifacts formally introduced to guests Saturday morning when three members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2025 presented by Visual Edge IT helped unveil the museum’s newest exhibit.
ERIC ALLEN, JARED ALLEN and STERLING SHARPE returned to Canton to open the Class of 2025 Exhibit, which includes items from their careers, the career of classmate ANTONIO GATES and detailed wall graphics highlighting aspects of not only these new class members but also dozens of other Hall of Famers.
The exhibit space, just inside the Hall’s main entrance, also includes artifacts highlighting the past and present eras of the participants in the 2025 Hall of Fame Game presented by Novartis, the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers. Their game, which kicks off the National Football League’s 106th season, will be played Thursday, July 31, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Each member of the Class of 2025 worked with the Hall of Fame to select artifacts for his individual case. These football- and nonfootball-related pieces of memorabilia help tell the story of the journey each has taken that has led him to becoming one of only 382 members of the most elite team in pro sports.
Jon Kendle, vice president of museum and archives at the Hall, called the new class exhibit his favorite to curate each year because of the involvement of the soon-to-be enshrinees.
Eric Allen said including an Emmy Award represented his post-playing day career in broadcasting and the opportunity “to talk about the game I love.”
Jared Allen noted that the boots in his display represent a special gift to himself after beginning pro football, while the lasso recalls his childhood. “I grew up calf-roping,” he said.
Sharpe, whose case includes a license plate stamped “THRO284,” pointed out the helmet and shoulder pads on display, noting he used them in college at the University of South Carolina and into the pros with the Packers.
“They served me well (and now) they get their due,” he said.
Gates wore the purple cleat during the 2017 season as part of the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats program. It promotes the Lupus Foundation of America and honors his younger sister, Pamela, who died of the disease at age 22 in 2014.
Museum guests can view the cases any day this summer as part of their admission to the Hall, which is operating under summer hours — 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. — through Labor Day. (Hours will adjust during Enshrinement Week presented by Novartis.)
The Class of 2025 will be enshrined Aug. 2 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
ERIC ALLEN, JARED ALLEN and STERLING SHARPE returned to Canton to open the Class of 2025 Exhibit, which includes items from their careers, the career of classmate ANTONIO GATES and detailed wall graphics highlighting aspects of not only these new class members but also dozens of other Hall of Famers.
The exhibit space, just inside the Hall’s main entrance, also includes artifacts highlighting the past and present eras of the participants in the 2025 Hall of Fame Game presented by Novartis, the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers. Their game, which kicks off the National Football League’s 106th season, will be played Thursday, July 31, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Each member of the Class of 2025 worked with the Hall of Fame to select artifacts for his individual case. These football- and nonfootball-related pieces of memorabilia help tell the story of the journey each has taken that has led him to becoming one of only 382 members of the most elite team in pro sports.
Jon Kendle, vice president of museum and archives at the Hall, called the new class exhibit his favorite to curate each year because of the involvement of the soon-to-be enshrinees.
Eric Allen said including an Emmy Award represented his post-playing day career in broadcasting and the opportunity “to talk about the game I love.”
Jared Allen noted that the boots in his display represent a special gift to himself after beginning pro football, while the lasso recalls his childhood. “I grew up calf-roping,” he said.
Sharpe, whose case includes a license plate stamped “THRO284,” pointed out the helmet and shoulder pads on display, noting he used them in college at the University of South Carolina and into the pros with the Packers.
“They served me well (and now) they get their due,” he said.
Gates wore the purple cleat during the 2017 season as part of the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats program. It promotes the Lupus Foundation of America and honors his younger sister, Pamela, who died of the disease at age 22 in 2014.
Museum guests can view the cases any day this summer as part of their admission to the Hall, which is operating under summer hours — 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. — through Labor Day. (Hours will adjust during Enshrinement Week presented by Novartis.)
The Class of 2025 will be enshrined Aug. 2 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Event tickets
- July 31: Hall of Fame Game presented by Novartis (Lions vs. Chargers).
- Aug. 1: Fashion Show Luncheon presented by Crystal Clinic Plastic Surgeons.
- Aug. 1: Enshrinees’ Gold Jacket Dinner presented by Haggar.
- Aug. 2: Grand Parade.
- Aug. 2: Enshrinement of Class of 2025 presented by Visual Edge IT.
- Aug. 3: Class of 2025 Unscripted & Tailgate presented by Employers Health.
- Aug. 3: Concert for Legends featuring Nickelback.
- VIP packages for Enshrinement Week presented by Novartis.
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