Pro Football Hall of Fame: Real Honor or Scam?
Waking up to do my daily scroll before school, the only thing on my feed was Bill Belichick and the absurd thing that he wouldn’t be a first-ballot hall of famer. In every video, there was anger and shock from on-looking fans because the greatest coach of all time wouldn't get inducted in his first year of eligibility. It didn’t make sense. Like a coveted honor society in school, getting inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is a life-changing event for some. Imagine being the best football coach in the country, thinking you were qualified enough but you didn’t get in, that’s heartbreaking. But does any of it really matter? What even is a hall of fame and why do we care?
Being a first ballot hall of fame inductee means they were inducted in their first year of eligibility and it’s an even greater honor than being inducted after their first year. It signifies their dominance and impact on the field through awards, statistics, and skills. But impact goes beyond football, whether it's through giving back to the community or how renowned they are on the global stage.
Once a player's career comes to an end, their focus shifts from winning superbowls to getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. Getting inducted shows that the hard work, sweat, and tears was all worth it for them; however, even without a hall of fame induction, you can still have fan and peer appreciation that validates your hard work. The Hall of Fame shouldn't deserve the appreciation it gets because, in my opinion, it's a fake, commercialized, cash grab that the NFL community stakes so much importance on, and here’s why.
The Hall of Fame isn’t about football, especially “Enshrinement Weekend” when the museum campus sees the most fans and players are formally inducted. Imagine if it's your high school graduation and in the middle of the ceremony they pause for a fast food commercial while there are banners and advertisements everywhere you look. It's supposed to be about the players yet the focus is so often turned to another profitable moment for the NFL. It has become a show rather than a celebration. Furthermore, the Hall of Fame, which is meant for all-time greats, has set a lower bar for induction in order to increase the amount of players being inducted so the NFL can drive attendance and ticket sales. For players already inducted, their place in the Hall of Fame loses value every time someone who isn’t as deserving gets inducted.
In the Pro Football Hall of Fame media guide, they state that their mission is to “Honor the Greatest of the Game, Preserve its History, Promote its Values, and Celebrate Excellence Together;” however, behind the curtains, is a group of members from the media who are not qualified vote on whether the prospects are inducted or not. Like a papal conclave, the process of selecting a new pope, the voting happens behind closed doors and is kept extremely secret. However, unlike the conclave, the hall of fame voters have no real experience in the field. The conclave works because the catholic cardinals have devoted their life to religion, so they know what it takes to be a pope. But, the hall of fame voters, unlike the cardinals, can’t make an educated decision. Continuing on, unlike other voting systems, the pro football hall of fame allows its voters to engage in discussions about who they will be voting for. This removes every bit of independence and integrity from the votes. Voters can collude and make decisions to hurt prospective inductees’ chances of induction considering you need 80% of the 50 votes. Even with the problems in the voting system, players who do find themselves being inducted hardly get rewarded.
Players work their whole careers with the hope of being inducted to the hall of fame. Current NFL star Davante Adams has gone as far as to straight up say, “I want to be in the hall of fame,” showing truly how crucial it is to players after retirement. Once players are inducted they only receive a gold colored jacket, a sculpture of their face, and a spot in a museum. No increase in pension or anything that can truly signify the importance of being in the hall of fame. It's like receiving a participation trophy in a tournament you’ve been working months towards because, “everyone’s a winner.” There should be a clear reward that goes further than pictures in a museum and a gold jacket that only adds to your pride.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame doesn’t deserve the support, love, or attention that it currently does because it doesn’t really do anything for anyone. It's just a museum. Maybe it's not just the pro football hall of fame that needs less attention and love. Every sport must find ways to give tangible and meaningful rewards to players that have been a cut above everyone else. Because, as of right now, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is just continually losing its value.