Combination of Hall of Fame Selectors, Hall of Famers, Coaches, Football Executives, and Historians make up 25-person committee
CANTON, OHIO – Legendary Oakland Raiders Head Coach and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame John Madden headlines a blue-ribbon panel that will determine the slate for a special centennial class of inductees.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced a measure in August that will result in a special Centennial Class of 2020 to include 20 members. The group will consist of five Modern-Era players, 10 Seniors (a player who has been retired for more than 25 seasons), three Contributors (an individual other than a player or coach) and two coaches.
The five-modern era enshrinees will come from the list of 122 modern-era nominees announced earlier this month. The 48-person Selection Committee will trim the initial list to 25 semifinalists in November and 15 finalists in January. The entire committee will then meet in Miami on "Selection Saturday," on the eve of the Super Bowl to debate the merits of each finalist. Voting will progress to a series of reduction votes that will result in the election of five Modern-Era players.
The remainder of the Class of 2020 will be the special Centennial slate that will include the 10 seniors, three contributors, and two coaches to be identified by a special Blue-Ribbon panel that has been formed by the Hall of Fame. The committee is comprised of many members of the overall Selection Committee in addition to Hall of Famers, coaches, football executives and several leading historians.
CENTENNIAL CLASS BLUE-RIBBON PANEL
Ernie Accorsi – Longtime Pro Football Executive
Bill Belichick – New England Patriots Head Coach
Jarrett Bell – Hall of Fame Selector, USA Today
Joel Bussert – Former NFL Executive, Pro Football Historian
John Clayton – Hall of Fame Selector, The Washington Post
Frank Cooney – Hall of Fame Selector, Sports XChange
John Czarnecki – Hall of Fame Selector, FOX Sports
Rick Gosselin – Hall of Fame Selector, Talk of Fame Network
Elliott Harrison – Pro Football Historian and Long-time TV Analyst
Joe Horrigan – Retired Pro Football Hall of Fame Executive, Football Historian
Ira Kaufman – Hall of Fame Selector, JoeBucsFan.com
Dick LeBeau – Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback, Longtime NFL coach
Jeff Legwold – Hall of Fame Selector, ESPN/ESPN.com
John Madden – Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach
John McClain – Hall of Fame Selector, Houston Chronicle
Gary Myers – Hall of Fame Selector, The Athletic
Ozzie Newsome – Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end, EVP Baltimore Ravens
Sal Paolantonio – Hall of Fame Selector, Senior National Correspondent - ESPN
Carl Peterson – Longtime Pro Football Executive
Bill Polian – Pro Football Hall of Fame Contributor
Dan Pompei – Hall of Fame Selector, The Athletic
Charean Williams – Hall of Fame Selector, Pro Football Talk
Chris Willis – Producer- Head of Research Library - NFL Films, Football Historian
Barry Wilner – Hall of Fame Selector, Associated Press
Ron Wolf – Pro Football Hall of Fame Contributor
A comprehensive list of nominated Seniors, Contributors and Coaches will be compiled and presented to the Blue-Ribbon panel by the end of this month. A reduction vote by the panel to 20 Seniors, 10 Contributors and 8 Coaches will be announced in the fall. The special panel will then meet in person to vote for 10 Seniors, 3 Contributors and 2 Coaches.
The Centennial Class will be formally enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame during the annual Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls in August and the NFL Centennial Celebration in Canton in September 2020.
