Class of 2026 featured exhibit unveiled at Pro Football Hall of Fame

Three members of Class of 2026 presented by Visual Edge IT unveiled their exhibit to the public Saturday, concluding a weekend orientation program at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

ROGER CRAIG, LARRY FITZGERALD and LUKE KUECHLY were in attendance to open the “Class of 2026 Exhibit,” which included artifacts from their careers as well as their classmates’: DREW BREES and ADAM VINATIERI. The exhibit also featured extensive wall graphics depicting the class’s accomplishments in the National Football League.

The exhibit space, just inside the Hall’s main entrance, was curated by each class member and the Hall of Fame to include football-related and nonfootball-related pieces of memorabilia that tell the story of each player’s journey to Canton.

Game-worn jerseys, a Bill Walsh-signed photograph, game-worn gloves and the 2012 Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year trophy were among the artifacts unveiled.

Also included in Brees’ case was a football commemorating his single-season passing record of 5,476 yards, which he reached in 2011. Featured on the ball are Ray and Virginia Akins, grandparents of Brees, who served as lifelong role models. Ray, Brees’ grandfather on his mother’s side, compiled 293 wins, the second-most in Texas high school football state history at the time of his retirement.

Included in Craig’s exhibit was a well-worn hammer belonging to his father, Elijah, who was a lumberjack and mechanic. For Craig, the hammer serves as a reminder of his father’s work ethic and a lifelong source of motivation.

Among the artifacts Kuechly revealed was a jar of dirt then-Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott would give to the team before the season filled with soil from Bank of America Stadium, reminding players to “defend their home turf.” Kuechly kept the jar in his locker as a way to center himself during games.

Fitzgerald’s display featured game-worn breast cancer awareness cleats that he wore against the Giants on Oct. 2, 2011, to represent his late mother, Carol, who passed away from breast cancer in 2003. The Cardinals’ all-time leading receiver shared an anecdote about appealing a fine he received for wearing another pair of cleats on display in the case. (The fine was overturned with the help of a high school friend who worked in the League Office.)

Vinatieri’s exhibit includes a hammer used Dec. 22, 2025, when the prolific kicker returned to Indianapolis to “Strike the Anvil” before a Colts game against the San Francisco 49ers. The long-standing tradition has featured celebrities and former players since 2017.

Also included in the exhibit are artifacts that represent this year’s Hall of Fame Game presented by Novartis featuring the Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers. Their game, which kicks off the National Football League’s 107th season, will be played Thursday, Aug. 6, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

The Class of 2026 presented by Visual Edge IT will be enshrined Aug. 8 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.