Pro Football Hall of Fame overhauls voting year after Belichick snub
The Pro Football Hall of Fame has enacted sweeping changes to its enshrinement process in the most significant overhaul in decades.
The revised bylaws halved the voting body from 50 members to 25, plus three non-voting members to comprise a 28-person selection committee. The voters are no longer designated by the past geographic model with one selector per club. Instead, there will be 27 at-large selectors and one Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA) representative.
Significantly, the controversial "seniors" designation - given to players who had been retired for more than 25 years - has been eliminated, with all former players now grouped into a single category. Previously, a maximum of three seniors could be included on the ballot.
The voting process came under fire following the 2026 election, which resulted in former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick missing the cut in his first year of eligibility.
Pro Football Hall of Fame president Jim Porter told The Associated Press in February that the Hall was considering changes. The Hall said Friday that the comprehensive review of the process began 2.5 years ago.
The Hall continually reviews its bylaws to ensure the selection process reflects the highest standards of integrity and the magnitude of election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame," Porter said in a news releases announcing the changes. There is no more important task at the Hall of Fame than the election of each new class."
Subcommittees will determine one coach and one contributor candidate for election each year, along with 13 ex-players, to comprise the finalists.
The election will once again be in person and will be held the week before Super Bowl week after a six-year break that began during the COVID pandemic. In another change, one person, who is not a member of the selection committee, will now make all presentations at the annual selection meeting, rather than each candidate having a separate voter make the case on their behalf.
Porter said this would eliminate the possibility of unintended biases" based on the skills of the person making the presentation.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pro Football Hall of Fame overhauls voting year after Belichick snub