RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Forbes — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 2 sources
SportsMoney How To Watch 2026 NFL Hall Of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony By John Cassillo ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. L.A.-based lead analyst at The Measure, covering the data behind sports media topics. Follow Author Aug 07, 2026, 02:43pm EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary The Pro Football Hall of Fame will enshrine five new members this Saturday, August 8, in Canton, Ohio. Former NFL stars Drew Brees, Roger Craig, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, and Adam Vinatieri will be honored in a ceremony airing at Noon ET on ESPN and NFL Network. Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald enter as first-ballot inductees, recognized for their prolific careers as a quarterback and wide receiver, respectively. Brees, a Super Bowl champion, ranks second all-time in passing yards and touchdowns. Fitzgerald, a 17-year Cardinals veteran, is second in career receptions and receiving yards. Linebacker Luke Kuechly, a Defensive Player of the Year, and legendary kicker Adam Vinatieri, the NFL's all-time leading scorer and a four-time Super Bowl winner, join on their second ballots. Running back Roger Craig, a three-time Super Bowl champion and the first player with 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in a season, finally enters via the senior ballot after a long wait.
On Saturday, August 8, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will add five new inductees.
After the incoming 2026 class was announced in February , former NFL greats Drew Brees, Roger Craig, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, and Adam Vinatieri will all be enshrined in Canton, Ohio this weekend.
In advance of the event at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, though, here’s how – and when – to watch the proceedings.
Brees and Fitzgerald will have bronze busts in the Hall of Fame after being voted in on their first years of eligibility, respectively. Kuechly and Vinatieri were both on their second ballots.
Craig, on the other hand, joins the Hall of Fame on the senior ballot , and was a semifinalist many times since first becoming eligible in 1999.
A quick overview of each player’s Canton credentials are below.
Brees joins the Hall of Fame after a 20-year quarterback career with both the (then-)San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints. Over the course of his career, he won 172 regular season games, nine playoff games and a Super Bowl (LIV, over the Indianapolis Colts).
He threw for over 80,000 career yards and 571 touchdowns while winning a Super Bowl MVP award, two offensive player of the year honors, and a first-team All-Pro selection in 2006. Brees is also second all-time in passing yards, touchdowns and completions (Tom Brady is first across all three metrics), and has the most 5,000-yard passing seasons in league history.
Fitzgerald spent all 17 of his NFL seasons playing for the Arizona Cardinals, 1,432 career receptions, 17,492 receiving yards and 121 touchdowns. He’s No. 2 all-time in catches and receiving yards (both behind Jerry Rice), and No. 6 in receiving touchdowns – and is tied for fifth in all-time playoff receiving TDs with 10, despite playing in just nine postseason games.
Over the course of his career, he was first-time All-Pro once (2008), led the league in receptions twice, and won the NFL Man of the Year Award in 2016. He was also part of the lone Cardinals team to ever make the Super Bowl. Fitzgerald hauled in seven passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns during Arizona’s close 27-23 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII.
Kuechly played just eight seasons in the NFL, all for the Carolina Panthers, but made the most of them. The linebacker won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2012, Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, and was a five-team first-team All-Pro during his time with the Panthers.
Averaging over 100 combined tackles per year, and leading the league in that category twice, Kuechly helped anchor a Carolina defense that kept the team as a perennial NFC contender for much of his time there. Kuechly played in seven playoff games with the Panthers, including Super Bowl 50 against the Denver Broncos. To-date, he’s been a participant in 39% of the franchise’s all-time playoff games.
Like his fellow enshrinees, Vinatieri has been to the Super Bowl. Though the former kicker’s late-game heroics in those games made his name synonymous with the event.
Over his 24-season career, Vinatieri won four Super Bowls (three with the New England Patriots and one with the Indianapolis Colts), and played in two more. He famously kicked the game-winning field goal in both Super Bowl XXXVI and XXXVIII. Vinateri’s make with 8:40 to go in Super Bowl XXXIX put the Patriots up by 10 (they’d win by three). And he also delivered three kicks in the Colts’ Super Bowl XLI victory.
Beyond his postseason heroics, Vinatieri is the NFL’s career points leader by over 100, was a three-time first-time All-Pro, and has also hit the most field goals in league history (599).
Craig played 11 seasons in the NFL, suiting up for the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Raiders and Minnesota Vikings from 1983-93. He won three Super Bowls with the 49ers, and was the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year in 1988 (while with San Francisco).
Despite playing running back, he was an elite pass-catcher, with 566 receptions for 4,911 yards in his career, and is top-10 all-time in receiving yards by a running back. He also led the league in receptions (among all position groups) in receptions, with 92 in 1985. At that time, he was the first player in league history to tally 1,000 receiving yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season.
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.