02/05/26 09:17:00
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02/05 21:12 CST Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald headline a Hall of Fame class
missing Bill Belichick
Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald headline a Hall of Fame class missing Bill
Belichick
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Pro Football Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --- Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald headlined the 2026 Pro
Football Hall of Fame class featuring five players but not six-time Super Bowl
winning head coach Bill Belichick.
Brees and Fitzgerald both made it in their first year of eligibility in results
announced at NFL Honors on Thursday night after prolific careers. Luke Kuechly
and Adam Vinatieri made it in their second seasons of eligibility, while Roger
Craig was the lone pick among seniors, coaches and contributors.
But the class is also noteworthy for Belichick's absence as at least 11 of the
50 voters opted against giving him a vote despite a career with 333 wins in the
regular season and playoffs and the most Super Bowl titles of any head coach. A
report last week that Belichick fell short in his first year of eligibility was
met with widespread criticism of both the voters and the process for choosing
Hall of Famers.
The man who hired Belichick in New England to set the stage for the Patriots
dynasty also fell short, with owner Robert Kraft failing to get enough votes.
This is the second straight year with a smaller class after only four people
made it last year as new rule changes have made it harder to get into the Hall.
There had been at least seven people inducted in the previous 12 classes before
last year.
That contributed to the snub for Belichick and Kraft, who were grouped with
Craig and two other players --- Ken Anderson and L.C. Greenwood --- who have
been retired for at least 25 seasons. The voters picked three of the five
candidates with the highest vote-getter and anyone else above 80% getting the
honor.
Craig, who was in his 28th year of eligibility, was the only one of those five
to make it. Craig was the first player ever to have 1,000 yards rushing and
1,000 yards receiving in the same season, which happened in 1985, and he led
the NFL with 2,036 yards from scrimmage in 1988 when he helped San Francisco
win the Super Bowl.
Craig also was part of the title-winning teams for the 49ers in the 1984 and
1989 seasons. His 410 yards from scrimmage in those Super Bowl wins are the
third-most ever behind Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Franco Harris.
Vinatieri was one of the most clutch kickers in NFL history, making the
game-winning field goals in the first two Super Bowl victories during New
England's dynasty with Belichick and Kraft in charge. He joined Jan Stenerud
and Morten Andersen as the only players in the Hall who were primarily kickers
in their careers.
Vinatieri helped launch the run with one of the game's greatest kicks --- a
45-yarder in the snow to force overtime in the "Tuck Rule" game against the
Raiders in the 2001 divisional round. He made the game-winning kick in OT to
win that game and then hit a 48-yarder on the final play of a 20-17 win in the
Super Bowl against the Rams.
Vinatieri is the NFL's career leader in points (2,673) and made field goals
(599) over a 24-year career with New England and Indianapolis. He also leads
all players with 56 field goals and 238 points in the postseason.
Brees is second all time to Tom Brady with 80,358 yards passing and 571
touchdown passes. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the San
Diego Chargers before signing as a free agent with the Saints in 2006, where
his career took off as he helped lift a city still recovering from Hurricane
Katrina.
Brees delivered to New Orleans its first Super Bowl title following the 2009
season, when he won MVP of the game after beating Peyton Manning and the
Indianapolis Colts. Brees made the Pro Bowl 13 times in his career, won AP
Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2011, was an All-Pro in 2006 and was a
second-team All-Pro four times.
Fitzgerald spent his entire career with the Arizona Cardinals after being
drafted third overall in 2004. His 1,432 catches and 17,492 yards receiving in
17 seasons rank second all time to Jerry Rice.
Fitzgerald topped 1,000 yards receiving nine times --- tied for the fourth-most
ever --- and helped the Cardinals reach their only Super Bowl following the
2008 season. Fitzgerald set single-season records that postseason with 546
yards receiving and seven TD catches, including a go-ahead 64-yard score with
2:37 to play in the Super Bowl before Pittsburgh rallied for a 27-23 win over
Arizona.
Kuechly's career was brief but impactful. The first-round pick by Carolina in
2012 was an All-Pro five times, with seven Pro Bowl nods and a Defensive Rookie
of the Year award. Over his eight-year career, Kuechly led all linebackers in
the NFL in tackles (1,090), takeaways (26), interceptions (18) and passes
defensed (66).
Voters reduced the list of 15 finalists in the modern era category to 10 and
then seven before voting for five to make it. The top three vote-getters and
anyone else above 80% got into the Hall.
Offensive linemen Willie Anderson and Marshal Yanda, and edge rusher Terrell
Suggs made it to the final seven in the modern-era category and will
automatically be finalists again next year.
___
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