The Pro Football Hall of Fame unveiled a strong 2026 class Thursday night, featuring Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri and Roger Craig, restoring some normalcy to a week of consternation after news broke that six-time Super Bowl champion coach Bill Belichick had missed the cut.
Brees ranks second to Tom Brady in all-time passing yards, Fitzgerald ranks second to Jerry Rice in all-time receiving yards and Vinatieri is the NFL’s all-time scoring leader in both the regular season and playoffs. Those three and Kuechly, the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year, made this the first modern-era class since 2005 in which all members were in their first or second years of eligibility.
The Belichick fallout, which included Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson and others expressing outrage over his omission, would have grown had other long-waiting candidates of lesser renown edged out superstars such as Brees, Fitzgerald and Kuechly, the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year.
Vinatieri’s selection in his second year of eligibility gave the New England Patriots representation after Belichick, their coach from 2000 to 2023, and owner Robert Kraft wound up on the outside. Vinatieri made two winning kicks in the three Super Bowls he won with New England before winning a fourth Super Bowl with Indianapolis.
Craig, the San Francisco 49ers legend who became the first of three players in NFL history to reach 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season, beat out Belichick, Kraft, Ken Anderson and L.C. Greenwood from the coach/contributor/senior player category.
That result exposed selectors who prioritized long-waiting senior candidates (Craig, Anderson and Greenwood) over an all-time great coach in Belichick.
No one could accuse selectors of taking that tack with the 15 modern-era finalists (those retired less than 25 years).
Brees and Fitzgerald made it in their first year of eligibility. Kuechly and Vinatieri made it in the second. That made 2026 the first modern-era class since 2005, when Dan Marino and Steve Young were first-ballot-selections, in which no members waited more than two years once eligible.
Brees, Fitzgerald, Kuechly and Vinatieri beat out 11 other modern-era finalists: offensive tackle Willie Anderson, guard Jahri Evans, running back Frank Gore, receiver Torry Holt, receiver Reggie Wayne, quarterback Eli Manning, outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, defensive tackle Kevin Williams, tight end Jason Witten, safety Darren Woodson and guard Marshal Yanda.
The Hall’s board of directors, which is separate from the selection committee, overhauled voting rules beginning with the 2025 class in an effort to “help ensure membership in the Hall of Fame remains elite” after class sizes had grown.
It worked only to an extent. After 19 consecutive classes with at least six inductees, the first two years under the new rules have produced nine (four in 2025, five this year). But Belichick’s omission highlighted the consequences of having coaches compete against players, leading to calls to separate those categories in the future.
Under the new rules, the 50 selectors cast three votes among five finalists in the coach/contributor/senior player category, with a minimum of one and maximum of three getting inducted. A minimum of 80 percent of the vote (40 votes) is required for a second or third selection. In the modern-era category, selectors cast five votes for a final group of seven players, with a minimum of three and maximum of five enshrined. The 80 percent threshold applies to the possible fourth and fifth selections.
Anderson, Suggs and Yanda rounded out the final group of seven modern-era players. Gore, Woodson and Witten were the last three out before the final seven.
Brees’ unique legacy in New Orleans
Brees’ numbers and accolades alone in any other city would’ve been deserving of a first ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame nod. He’s a Super Bowl MVP. When he retired, Brees held the NFL career record for passing yards and was second to Tom Brady in touchdown passes. He’s one of the best QBs to ever play. No question.
He means much more in New Orleans, though, playing one of the biggest roles in saving the city after Hurricane Katrina, both physically and psychologically.
Physically by immediately altering the state of the Saints in 2006 with an unexpected ride to the NFC Championship Game and another a few years later to win Super Bowl XLIV. Psychologically by recovering from a severe right shoulder injury suffered in his final game with the San Diego Chargers, choosing to play in New Orleans following the devastating storm and bringing a sense to those in the area that if the Saints can rebound, so can you.
I mean this sincerely as a New Orleans area native: Brees is one of the most important people in the history of New Orleans. — Larry Holder, former Saints beat writer and columnist
Why Fitzgerald got in on the first ballot
To this day, 17 years later, every Cardinals fan can recall the bolt of excitement they experienced as Fitzgerald sprinted 64 yards to the end zone to give Arizona a 23-20 lead over Pittsburgh with 2:37 left in Super Bowl XLIII. Although the lead didn’t last, the moment is unmatched in modern Cardinals history, the closest this franchise has come to euphoria since the 1940s.
If you want numbers, Fitzgerald, second in career catches, has them. If you want league recognition, Fitzgerald, an 11-time Pro Bowler, earned it. But what makes him a first-ballot Hall of Famer is that 2008 playoffs run, when he became the best player on the field and nearly helped the Cardinals pull off the impossible. Simply unforgettable. — Doug Haller, Arizona senior writer
Kuechly’s short wait ends
Like Belichick, Kuechly waited a year longer than he should have to get the call from Canton. There was nothing unusual about his omission last year; the Panthers great was simply a victim of the Hall making it tougher to get in, beginning with the 2025 class. As Christian McCaffrey told Panthers.com reporter Kassidy Hill this week, Kuechly “got screwed.”
There might have been voters who thought Kuechly should wait a year because he didn’t play long enough. But the former Boston College standout packed a ton of production into those eight seasons before retiring after 2019 because he thought concussions and other health issues had diminished his level of play. Of course, Kuechly was coming off his seventh consecutive Pro Bowl, a second-team All-Pro selection and had finished in the NFL’s top five in tackles. Whether in the film room or on the field, Kuechly set a high standard for himself, one worthy of the Hall of Fame. — Joseph Person, Panthers beat writer
Vinatieri’s lengthy resume
Vinatieri was arguably the most clutch kicker in NFL history, but he also produced one of the most impressive kicking careers. He played an astounding 24 NFL seasons. He led the league in field goal percentage three times and won four Super Bowls.
His most iconic kicks came during the Patriots’ magical run in 2001. He hit the game-tying 45-yarder and the 23-yard overtime winner in a blizzard in the final minute of the AFC divisional round against the Raiders (known as the Tuck Rule game), then the game-winner a few weeks later in the Super Bowl as time expired to beat the Rams.
“You always knew that when he kicked, they were going to go in,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said Thursday. “The kick in the snow, that’s probably the greatest feat — one of the greatest feats I’ve ever seen on a football field. You could barely run, let alone approach and kick a football that length.” — Chad Graff, Patriots beat writer
Considering he’s the NFL’s all-time leading scorer, it was shocking Vinatieri was not selected on the first ballot last year. Now, that detail is simply a footnote for the 24-year pro, who is widely considered the greatest kicker in league history. Vinatieri’s Super Bowl title with the Colts made him the only kicker in NFL history to win four. He also earned the last of three first-team All-Pro honors in Indianapolis in 2014, when he led the league in field goal percentage. He holds several other league records that ultimately made his forthcoming gold jacket and bronze bust a matter of when, not if. — James Boyd, Colts beat writer