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Five players were selected as inductees to the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class announced during the NFL Honors award show Thursday (February 5) night.
The 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class will include quarterback Drew Brees. wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, linebacker Luke Kuechly, kicker Adam Vinatieri and running back Roger Craig.
Brees, widely regarded as the greatest and most celebrated player in New Orleans Saints history, leading New Orleans to its lone Super Bowl victory and rallying the city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, retired as the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards (80,358) and completions (7,142), both of which have since been broken by seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and also ranks second in career touchdown passes with 571, elected in his first year of eligibility. Fitzgerald, who spent his entire career with the Arizona Cardinals, was also elected in his first year on the ballot, holding Cardinals franchise records for career receptions (1,432), receiving yards (1,432) and receiving touchdowns (121).
Kuechly, who spent his entire career with the Carolina Panthers, was elected in his second year of eligibility, as a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2013), the 2012 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, a five-time first-team All-Pro (2013-2015, 2017, 2018), a two-time second-team All-Pro (2016, 2019) and a two-time NFL combined tackles leader (2012, 2014). Vinatieri, widely regarded as one of the greatest and most clutch kickers in NFL history, is a four-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots (3) and Indianapolis Colts (1), a three-time first-team All-Pro (2002, 2004, 2014), the 2004 NFL scoring leader and is the NFL all-time scoring leader.
Craig, a mainstay at running back during the 1980s San Francisco 49ers dynasty, was the lone senior inductee, totaling at least 1,000 yards from scrimmage in each of his first seven seasons, having surpassed 2,000 yards twice, having also won the 1988 NFL Offensive Player of the Year award and being selected as a first-team All-Pro in 1988, a second-team All-Pro in 1985 and a four-time Pro Bowler.