Stadium | Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium |
---|---|
Location | Canton, Ohio, U.S. |
First played | 1962 |
2023 season | |
New York Jets 16 Cleveland Browns 21 | |
2024 season | |
Houston Texans vs Chicago Bears |
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is an annual National Football League (NFL) preseason exhibition game in Canton, Ohio, held the weekend of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies. The game is played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, part of Hall of Fame Village and located adjacent to the Hall of Fame building. [1] The first game was played in 1962, when ground was broken for the Hall of Fame. [2] [3]
The two teams that play in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game are typically selected by the league in advance of the remainder of the preseason schedule. The participants are usually announced around the time that the new Hall of Fame members are announced, which coincides with Super Bowl week. Often, when a particularly notable player will be entering the Hall of Fame that year, a team with which he had been strongly associated may be selected to play in the game to help maximize attendance and publicity of the game itself.
From 1971 to 2010, the opponents for each game usually included one AFC team and one NFC team. In 2009, as recognition of the 50th anniversary of the American Football League, the game paired two AFC teams who were part of the "original eight" franchises of the AFL (1960), the Tennessee Titans (dressed as their previous incarnation, the Houston Oilers) and the Buffalo Bills, whose owner, Ralph Wilson, was inducted into the Hall that year. An all-NFC matchup was scheduled for 2011, [4] but it was canceled by the lockout; the following year, another intra-conference matchup of two NFC teams took its place. From 2011 onward, each team selected to play in the game has had at least one prominent alumnus being inducted into the Hall that year.
Since the Hall of Fame Game and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony are scheduled for the weekend before the normal NFL preseason season starts, both teams end up playing an additional exhibition game compared to the remaining teams in the league (formerly four, three as of 2021).
The last four expansion teams added to the league all played in the Hall of Fame Game as their first game. In 1995, expansion clubs Jacksonville and Carolina played each other, and Houston appeared in 2002. When the new Cleveland Browns returned to the league in 1999 with a rebooted roster, they played in the Hall of Fame Game.
The Baltimore Ravens, officially established in 1996 as a result of the Browns' relocation, did not play in the Hall of Fame Game until 2018. With the Ravens' participation, all 32 current NFL teams have at least one appearance.
Prior to the AFL–NFL merger, the Hall of Fame Game was played in August or September, in some cases at the end of the preseason. In 1970, it was moved to the beginning of the preseason. Prior to 2001, it was not uncommon for the game to be played in July. Since 2001, when the league permanently moved the start of the season to the weekend after Labor Day, the game has always been played in early August. In 2002, the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony was moved from the steps of the museum to the football stadium. This created a tight schedule between the ceremony and the game.
The 2011 game was originally scheduled between the St. Louis Rams and the Chicago Bears, but the game was canceled by an ongoing labor dispute that had disrupted nearly all league activity during the 2011 offseason. The two clubs had set a deadline of July 22 to ratify a resolution in enough time to prepare for the game: the league and players did not ratify the agreement until July 25, forcing cancellation of the game.
The 2016 edition, which was scheduled to be played between the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts, was canceled at the last minute for unsafe playing conditions. Mike Silver of NFL.com reported that on the morning of the game, it was discovered that the logos at midfield and the end zones had been painted using paint which was not intended for use on the newly-installed synthetic FieldTurf. Subsequently, the paint had not fully dried, and officials heated the field to speed up the drying process, causing its rubber infill to melt; the affected areas were described as being slick and "like cement," making it impossible to get decent footing. Stadium officials attempted to address this issue by applying paint thinner to the turf before a Packers employee alerted them to a label warning that the substance could result in burns when exposed to skin. In deciding to cancel the game, the league and the Players Association cited safety concerns. [5] [6] [7]
Both teams were told at 6:40 p.m. EDT, eighty minutes before kickoff, that the game was going to be canceled. However, fans in the stadium only learned of the pending cancellation via social media, and no official announcement was made until just before the scheduled 8 p.m. kickoff, which was greeted by boos and jeering. [8]
The next year, in 2017, the game was moved to Thursday night, making it the first event of the Hall of Fame weekend: [9] [10] the game was moved prior to the ceremony to prevent a repeat of the 2016 incident, and has been maintained since. Immediately following the game, the stage and seating area for the Hall of Fame ceremony are erected in the stadium.
The game in 2020, which was scheduled to be played between the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as all other preseason games, was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The matchup was held over for the 2021 game. [11] [12]
Unlike the majority of NFL preseason games, which air on local television stations, the Hall of Fame Game airs nationwide. From 1999 to 2005, the game was held on Monday night, televised as part of ABC's Monday Night Football package. It had previously been held typically on Saturday afternoons, except from 1963 to 1965 on Sunday afternoons, televised as part of ABC's Wide World of Sports package (still using the MNF crew). In 1998, the game was put in the MNF package, and played on a Saturday night, which served as a test run for the move to Monday night.
Since 2006, the game has largely aired on NBC as part of the Sunday Night Football package (which replaced MNF as the NFL's flagship primetime broadcast that season), except in 2007 (when NBC planned to air the China Bowl preseason game in Beijing, which was postponed and ultimately canceled) and in all Summer Olympics years (2008, 2012, 2016, 2021, 2024, 2028, and 2032) so that NBC could televise the Games. In these years, the game was sold to one of the NFL's other media partners, such as NFL Network (under Thursday Night Football ), ESPN (under the current iteration of Monday Night Football), and most recently Fox. [13]
Team | Games | W | L | T | PCT | Last appearance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pittsburgh Steelers | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 2021 |
Dallas Cowboys | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 2021 |
Cleveland Browns | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | 2023 |
Washington Redskins | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2008 |
Chicago Bears | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | .800 | 2018 |
New York Giants | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .700 | 2014 |
New Orleans Saints | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | .400 | 2012 |
Arizona/St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | .300 | 2017 |
Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .200 | 2019 |
Denver Broncos | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | 2019 |
Minnesota Vikings | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | 2015 |
Philadelphia Eagles | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 2006 |
Indianapolis/Baltimore Colts | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 2008 |
Green Bay Packers | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .375 | 2003 |
Miami Dolphins | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 2013 |
Buffalo Bills | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 2014 |
Las Vegas/Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2022 |
New England Patriots | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 2000 |
San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 2000 |
Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 2001 |
Kansas City Chiefs | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 2003 |
Detroit Lions | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | 1991 |
Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | 2009 |
Cincinnati Bengals | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | 2010 |
New York Jets | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | 2023 |
Seattle Seahawks | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 1997 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 1998 |
Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .250 | 1994 |
Jacksonville Jaguars | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 2022 |
Carolina Panthers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1995 |
Baltimore Ravens | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2018 |
Houston Texans | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 2002 |
Anthony Cris Collinsworth is an American former football player and sports broadcaster. Collinsworth was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons (1981-1988), all with the Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football at the University of Florida, where he was recognized as an All-American. He is a television sportscaster for NBC, Showtime, and the NFL Network, and winner of 17 Sports Emmy Awards. He is also the majority owner of Pro Football Focus.
The NFL on NBC is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that are produced by NBC Sports, and televised on the NBC television network and the Peacock streaming service in the United States.
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006.
NBC Sunday Night Football is an American weekly television broadcast of National Football League (NFL) games on NBC and Peacock in the United States. It began airing on August 6, 2006, with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, which opened that year's preseason. NBC took over the rights to the Sunday prime time game telecasts from ESPN, which carried the broadcasts from 1987 to 2005. At the same time, ESPN began broadcasting Monday Night Football when it was dropped from sister network ABC. Previously, NBC had aired American Football League (AFL), and later American Football Conference (AFC), games from 1965 until 1997, when CBS took over those rights.
The National Football League preseason is the period each year during which NFL teams play several not-for-the-record exhibition games before the actual "regular" season starts. Beginning with the featured Pro Football Hall of Fame game in early August, three weekends of exhibition games are played in the NFL to date. The start of the preseason is intrinsically tied to the last week of training camp.
The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League (NFL), themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."
The 2011 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 52nd season in the National Football League (NFL), the third playing their home games at Cowboys Stadium and the first full season under head coach Jason Garrett. The team improved on their 6–10 record from 2010, but missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season due to their week 17 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants.
The 2011 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 46th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the fourth under head coach Mike Smith.
The 2014 season was the Seattle Seahawks' 39th in the National Football League (NFL) and their fifth under head coach Pete Carroll. The Seahawks started the season as the defending Super Bowl champions for the first time in franchise history.
The 2014 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 55th season in the National Football League (NFL), the sixth playing their home games at AT&T Stadium and the fourth full season under head coach Jason Garrett.
The 2015 Green Bay Packers season was the franchise's 97th season overall, 95th in the National Football League, and the tenth under head coach Mike McCarthy. With a Week 15 win over the Oakland Raiders, the Green Bay Packers clinched a playoff spot for the seventh consecutive season, but they failed to win their fifth consecutive NFC North title after a Week 17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. As a result, the fifth-seeded Packers traveled to Washington to face the fourth-seeded Redskins in the wild-card round. They beat the Redskins 35–18, and then traveled to Arizona for a rematch against the second-seeded Arizona Cardinals, where the Packers' season ended as they lost to the Cardinals in overtime, 26–20. One highlight of the Packers' season was a stunning come-from-behind victory over their division rivals Detroit Lions, which resulted in a 61-yard game-winning Hail Mary pass from quarterback Aaron Rodgers to tight end Richard Rodgers II as time expired.
The 2015 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 55th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their second under head coach Mike Zimmer. It marked the last season in which the Vikings played their home games at the University of Minnesota's on-campus TCF Bank Stadium, before moving into U.S. Bank Stadium, which opened in July 2016, located on the site of the now-demolished Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
The 2016 Green Bay Packers season was their 98th season overall, 96th season in the National Football League (NFL), and the 11th under head coach Mike McCarthy. Despite a 4–6 start to the season, the Green Bay Packers went on a 6-game winning streak to finish the regular season with a 10–6 record. The team clinched the NFC North for the fifth time in six years with their week 17 win over the Detroit Lions. They routed the fifth-seeded New York Giants 38–13 in the wild card round of the playoffs and defeated the top-seeded and heavily favored Dallas Cowboys 34–31 in the divisional round of the playoffs, but their season came to an end when they were beat by the second-seeded Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game 44–21.
The 2017 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 52nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and their third under head coach Dan Quinn. They entered the season as the defending NFC champions and tried to defend their NFC title for a second consecutive trip to the Super Bowl after losing the previous year against the Patriots in Super Bowl LI after blowing a 28-3 lead. This was the Falcons' first year in Mercedes-Benz Stadium after spending the previous 25 seasons in the Georgia Dome, which was demolished on November 20, 2017. Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened as scheduled on August 26, 2017; however, its retractable roof system was incomplete. The roof of Mercedes-Benz Stadium remained in the closed position for most of the 2017 season, with the roof opened only during the September 17 game against the Green Bay Packers, as contractors continued to fully mechanize the roof.
The 2019 season was the Green Bay Packers' 99th in the National Football League (NFL), their 101st overall and their first under new head coach Matt LaFleur. After suffering back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1990–91 and missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2005–06, the Packers improved on their 6–9–1 record from 2018, finishing 13–3 and returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. This guaranteed the Packers' first non-losing season since that same year. Green Bay swept the NFC North for the first time since their franchise-best 2011 season, and achieved their best record since that season as well.
The 2019 season was the Seattle Seahawks' 44th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 10th under head coach Pete Carroll. It marked their first full season since 1996 without longtime owner Paul Allen, who had died during the 2018 season.
Recently, the NFL's TV broadcasters have suffered annual financial losses because advertising revenue is unable to keep up with the rising costs of broadcast rights.
The 2020 season was the Green Bay Packers' 100th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 102nd overall and their second under head coach Matt LaFleur.
The 2020 season was the Seattle Seahawks' 45th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 11th season under head coach Pete Carroll. With a win over the Washington Football Team in Week 15, the Seahawks made the playoffs for the third consecutive year. With a Week 17 win over the San Francisco 49ers, they improved upon their 11–5 record from the previous season. For the first time in franchise history, the Seahawks started 5–0. After a Week 16 win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Seahawks clinched the NFC West title for the first time since 2016.
From 2014 to 2022, CBS, NBC, and Fox, as well as cable television's ESPN, paid a combined total of US$20.4 billion will pay $39.6 billion for exactly the same broadcast rights. The NFL thus holds broadcast contracts with four companies that control a combined vast majority of the country's television product. League-owned NFL Network, on cable television, also broadcasts a selected number of games nationally. In 2017, the NFL games attracted the top three rates for a 30-second advertisement: $699,602 for NBC Sunday Night Football, $550,709 for Thursday Night Football (NBC), and $549,791 for Thursday Night Football (CBS).