Pro Football Hall of Fame: New Members, voting, location, eligibility & more

Each year, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee meets before the NFL Championship to vote on new members to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

We have all you need to know about the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Pro Football Hall of Fame voting

The Selection Committe of the Pro Football Hall of Fame decides who is inducted every year. The committee is polled three times by mail (in March, September, and October every year) to narrow the list to 25 semifinalists, then in November, it votes via mail on the 15 finalists.

The Selection Committee is split between the Seniors and Contributors groups, the former group being players whose careers have been over for at least 25 years and the latter being people who contributed to football in areas aside from playing and coaching. These groups each suggest one or two players in each voting cycle to add to the ballot, which puts 18 finalists on the ballot in total.

Then, the committee meets annually on the day before the NFL Championship game to elect the new class of Hall of Famers. Finalists must receive support from at least 80 percent of the Selection Committee to be elected.

Pro Football Hall of Fame location

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton, Ohio. The city lobbied for the NFL to put its Hall of Fame in Canton because the league was founded in Canton, the now-defunct Canton Bulldogs were the first repeat champion in the NFL back in the 1920s, and because the city raised a healthy sum of money to build it.

The Hall of Fame was opened to the public on September 7, 1963.

Pro Football Hall of Fame induction

Hall of Fame Enshrinement Week kicks off every NFL preseason, and the week features the Hall of Fame Game, which opens the preseason annually. The ceremony is held at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, adjacent to the Hall of Fame itself, and takes place at noon on the Saturday of Enshrinement Week.

Pro Football Hall of Fame history

There are 371 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which includes the latest Class of 2023. The total number will grow to 378 when the Class of 2024 is inducted before the 2024 NFL season.

Seventeen people were inducted in the first Hall of Fame class in 1963: Sammy Baugh, Bert Bell, Joe Carr, Earl "Dutch" Clark, Harold "Red" Grange, George Halas (the road where the Hall of Fame is located is named George Halas Drive), Mel Hein, Wilbur "Pete" Henry, Robert "Cal" Hubbard, Don Hutson, Earl "Curly" Lambeau, Tim Mara, George Preston Marshall, John "Blood" McNally, Bronko Nagurski, Ernie Nevers, and Jim Thorpe.

There has never been a year where no players were into the Hall of Fame.

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024

The next Hall of Fame inductees will be Dwight Freeney, Devin Hester, Andre Johnson, Julius Peppers, Patrick Willis, and, as Senior inductees, Randy Gradishar and Steve McMichael.

Players eligible for Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025

Some of the players eligible for their first Hall of Fame ballot next year will be Eli Manning, Luke Kuechly, Marshawn Lynch, Terrell Suggs, and Darren Sproles. Players who have been on previous ballots, have not been elected, and are still eligible include Jared Allen, Antonio Gates, Rodney Harrison, James Harrison, Vince Wilfork, and Hines Ward.