NFL: Who votes for the Hall of Fame?
Eight legendary players have been selected to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame as members of the Class of 2021.
This year's class of enshrinees are as follows: guard: Alan Faneca; coach: Tom Flores; wide receiver: Calvin Johnson; safety: John Lynch; quarterback: Peyton Manning; contributor: Bill Nunn; wide receiver: Drew Pearson; and cornerback/safety: Charles Woodson.
The Class of 2021 will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Canton, on Sunday, Aug 8, 2021.
But just who votes for the NFL Hall of Fame?
NFL: Does the Hall of Fame nominate individuals?
The simple answer is, no: the Hall of Fame does not make nominations. Any person, including members of the Selection Committee, may nominate a player, coach, or contributor, but the Hall of Fame itself only receives the nominations; it does not make them.
NFL: Who selects the new members of the Hall of Fame?
The 48-person Selection Committee decides on which nominations go on to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
A complete list of the individuals who make up the selection committee can be seen at profootballhalloffame.com, or by simply clicking the link.
Pro Football Hall of Fame's official website states:
"The Committee consists of one media representative from each pro football city — with two from New York and two from Los Angeles, as those cities each have two teams in the National Football League. There are 16 at-large Selectors, who are active members of the media or persons intricately involved in professional football, including one representative of the Pro Football Writers of America. All appointments are open-ended and approved annually by a majority vote of the Hall of Fame's Board of Trustees.
"The Selection Committee meets annually on the Saturday before the Super Bowl to elect new members of the Hall of Fame. There is no set number of new enshrinees, but the Committee’s current ground rules do stipulate that between four and eight new members will be selected each year. Every candidate is thoroughly reviewed and must receive approval from at least 80 percent of the full Committee to be elected."
What are the rules for selecting the enshrinees?
Football fans are free to nominate any player, coach, or contributor they want to be enshrined by writing to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Contributors are eligible to enter the Hall of Fame the moment they retire, but players and coaches have to have been retired for a minimum of five years.
To guarantee selection into the HoF, the nominee must receive a minimum of 80% of the votes.