The Pro Football Hall of Fame welcomed five new members on Thursday night at NFL Honors.
Quarterback Drew Brees, running back Roger Craig, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, linebacker Luke Kuechly and kicker Adam Vinatieri will have their busts in Canton.
Brees and Fitzgerald are first-ballot Hall of Famers, and Kuechly and Vinatieri were in their second year of eligibility.
Craig has waited 28 years for his knock on the door. He was one of three seniors candidates in a group that also included Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft as the coach and contributor candidates, respectively.
For the second consecutive year, only one of the five finalists in that group made it into the Hall of Fame. Sterling Sharpe was the only inductee of that group in the Class of 2025.
Seniors L.C. Greenwood and Ken Anderson, like Belichick and Kraft, did not receive the 80 percent required for induction in the Class of 2026.
After much criticism about the selectors’ failure to enshrine Belichick in his first year of eligibility, the elections of Brees, Craig, Fitzgerald, Vinatieri and Kuechly were met with a standing ovation when announced at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.
Brees learned of his election from Dan Fouts; Ronnie Lott and Charles Haley surprised Craig with the news; Morten Andersen had the honor of telling Vinatieri; Randy Moss informed Fitzgerald; and Julius Peppers was the Hall of Famer who welcomed Kuechly into the Hall.
The Hall of Fame’s membership now stands at 387.
The newest members’ enshrinement will take place Saturday, Aug. 8 in Canton.
