The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, is home to the sport’s legends: NFL stars of yore as well as players that spent time in its predecessor organizations, including the American Association.

There’s a meticulous selection process to decide who is worthy for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It has changed throughout the years, and was most recently updated in 2025. Here is how the sport’s best players, coaches, and contributors get enshrined there.

The Committees

Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinees are voted on by a 50-person Selection Committee comprising one media representative each from a city with an NFL team (there are two in New York and Los Angeles, which each have two teams), plus 17 at-large members who cover the game, and one representative from the Pro Football Writers of America. Committee members are appointed by the Hall’s Board of Trustees.

Within this larger body sit three nine-person committees selected by the full committee; they are mostly composed of Selection Committee members, but can also include outside selectors. These committees are:

• Coach Committee: Nominates one coach who has been retired for at least one season
• Contributor Committee: Nominates one contributor to the game
• Seniors Committee: Nominates up to three players who have not played in at least 25 years 

The Selection Process

There are four routes for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

• Modern-Era Player (retired for 5 to 24 seasons)
• Senior Player (retired for at least 25 seasons)
• Coach (retired at least one season)
• Contributor (any past or current official, owner, general manager, etc.)

Anyone can nominate someone for induction just by writing to the Hall of Fame. The Hall compiles this list of nominations along with previous nominees who received votes, plus newly eligible candidates with solid stats. It sends this list (along with updated versions) to the Selection Committee.

• In September, each member of the Selection Committee chooses 25 players from the list of Modern-Era Player nominees. The top 25 vote-getters become semifinalists.
• In November, the committee whittles this list down to 15. The Coach and Contributor committees each add their names, bringing the total list of finalists to a maximum of 20.

At the annual meeting before the Super Bowl, the Selection Committee meets to vote on new members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

• Of the five finalists put forward by the Coach, Contributor, and Seniors committees, the Selection Committee can vote for up to three. Any candidate who receives at least 80% approval is enshrined as a member.
• From the list of 15 finalists put forward by the Selection Committee, the committee discusses each before taking a vote to shrink the list to 10.
• Then the committee votes again, shrinking the list to seven names. From this list, voters choose five. Any candidate who receives at least 80% approval is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The system is designed to produce four to eight members each year. With just four inductees, the Class of 2025 is the smallest in 20 years. It includes three members who got in as Modern-Era Player nominees—defensive end Jared Allen, cornerback Eric Allen, and former Chargers tight end Antonio Gates—and one nominee from the Seniors Committee: legendary Green Bay wide receiver Sterling Sharpe.