After all of the festivities and fun of the 2025 NFL Honors were complete, some of those most excited were the five newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Roger Craig, Luke Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri, Larry Fitzgerald, and Drew Brees were announced as the class of 2026, with Fitzgerald and Brees being voted in on their first ballot.
Although the players now know their place in history, they will be officially enshrined with their busts at the induction ceremony this fall. This event will cap a multi-day party following the completion of the NFL’s Hall of Fame Game held at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, OH. This year’s game is slated for Thursday, August 6, and will mark the official return of NFL football following the offseason. Historically, the teams chosen to open the season have significant ties to the players in the current class, which should narrow the possibilities.
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First played in 1962, the Hall of Fame game will be celebrating its 64th season, though the game itself has been played only 59 times. The game, for a variety of reasons, has been canceled four times in its history: once in 1966 and then three times between 2010 and 2020.
These are the last times that each Hall of Fame member’s team played in the Hall of Fame game:
Roger Craig; San Francisco 49ers (2000), Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders (2006), Minnesota Vikings (2015)
Luke Kuechly; Carolina Panthers (1995)
Adam Vinatieri; New England Patriots (2000), Indianapolis Colts (2008)
Larry Fitzgerald; Arizona Cardinals (2017)
Drew Brees; New Orleans Saints (2012), San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers (2025)
The New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals squared off in 2012’s Hall of Fame Game, and with both teams having a first ballot guy in this year’s class, there is a strong possibility for a rematch between the two.
Would you like to see the Saints play in this year’s exhibition in Canton? Are you planning to travel for Brees’ enshrinement? Let us know in the comments!