Football’s New Hall of Fame Format Gets Mixed Reviews From Senior Stars

When Ottis “O.J.” Anderson retired after the 1992 season, he was the eighth all-time leading rusher in National Football League history. The seven in front of him on that immortal list have all made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Mr. Anderson is still waiting for his call.The stinging reality of that wait hit harder last year when former San Francisco running back Roger Craig, who last played in 1993, was nominated by the Senior Committee and enshrined in the Class of 2026. Mr. Craig totaled 8,189 rushing and 73 touchdowns in his 11-year career. Mr. Anderson totaled 10,273 yards rushing playing for the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Giants. He also scored 86 touchdowns, was the 1979 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, a first-team All-Pro, the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 1989 and the MVP of Super Bowl XXV when the Giants upset the highly favored Buffalo Bills at Tampa. Yet, year after year, Mr. Anderson has watched other running backs accept their gold jackets.“How do I get jumped over for all these years when I was the eighth leading rusher when I retired?” Mr. Anderson asked The New York Sun. “I’m still on the outside looking in.”He is hopeful that might change after the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced it is overhauling its selection process. In addition to cutting the selection committee nearly in half and returning to in-person meetings, the separate category for senior players has been eliminated. There is no longer a split between modern era candidates and senior candidates, players retired for at least 25 yearsOn the surface, it might seem the chances of those who played two or three decades ago making the Hall of Fame could diminish. But Mr. Anderson supports the move and hopes it creates an opportunity to reset the conversation.“It sounds like it could be a good thing because they need to put us where we need to be, which is where we can be considered relevant,” he told the Sun. “Before, it seemed like we were outcasts. Not enough people knew about us to make us relevant. By getting rid of the senior tag, you can simply compare everyone’s stats together, instead of the senior stats being set apart from everybody else.”Under the new format, the selection committee, which has been trimmed from 50 to 28, will reduce an initial list of nominees in the player category to 50, then 25 semifinalists and 13 finalists. There will also be one coaching candidate and one contributor added to the group and considered along with the players.A person not on the committee will present the 15 finalists at an in-person meeting held closer to when the results are announced at NFL Honors during Super Bowl week to cut down on potential leaks. Voters will be able to select six persons with 80 percent needed for induction.Under the system in place the past two years, voters could choose five of the seven modern-area finalists, and three of the five from the coaches, contributors and seniors.“The Hall of Fame’s selection process has always been guided by integrity, thoughtful deliberation and a commitment to honoring those most deserving of football’s highest individual honor,” the Hall of Fame president, Jim Porter, said in a statement. “We believe these changes both augment what has worked well while addressing opportunities to further strengthen a tradition that means so much to the game and everyone who loves it.”The Hall’s selection process came under intense scrutiny last year when Bill Belichick failed to get the necessary votes for induction in his first year of eligibility despite winning six Super Bowls as the head coach of the New England Patriots and two more as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants.Though the Hall said revamping the selection process has been discussed for at least two years, many suspect the fallout from Mr. Belichick being left out triggered the changes. “When that went down the way it went down, it was an embarrassment to the Hall of Fame,” Mr. Anderson said. “When they got egg on their face with Belichick and [Patriots owner Bob] Kraft, you knew there were going to be changes.”Not everyone shares Mr. Anderson’s optimism regarding the new rules. Everson Walls, who amassed 57 interceptions during a 13-year career that ended in 1993, questions the need to eliminate the senior category. “I don’t understand how this makes it better,” Mr. Walls told the Sun. “How is voting seniors in hurting the process? That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I think the odds for me just got worse.”Mr. Walls, 66, made the Pro Bowl four times — when it actually meant something — played nine years with Dallas Cowboys and won a Super Bowl with the New York Giants before ending his career in 1993 with the Cleveland Browns. He hopes voters look beyond stats and investigate the competition during respective eras and the impact senior candidates had on their teams.“When it comes to players my age and even younger, the voters don’t want to do any research,” he said. “They’re not going to talk to anybody or even look us up. Will this move make voters more conscientious about players like me or not? Probably not.”One former player contacted by the Sun who requested to remain anonymous offered a more somber motivation for phasing out the senior category: shielding the league from the visible, physical toll of playing football.Mr. Craig used his video-taped induction speech to announce he has been diagnosed with vascular dementia, potentially linked to concussions sustained during his career. Former defensive lineman Steve McMichael, part of the famed 1985 Chicago Bears, was enshrined in 2024, three years after being diagnosed with ALS. His sister Kathy delivered his Hall of Fame speech. He died in 2025.“I don’t know if the NFL wants that at the Hall of Fame celebration,” the former player said. “I don’t think they want to see that anymore. It hits too close to home.”Making the Hall of Fame is the ultimate for professional athletes. Each year many are disappointed when their names are not called and wonder if it will ever happen.“Put my stats side by side and then ask, why is this kid not in?” Mr. Anderson said. “Give me my flowers while I’m above ground. Let me enjoy it; let me feel it.”

Football’s New Hall of Fame Format Gets Mixed Reviews From Senior Stars

Football’s New Hall of Fame Format Gets Mixed Reviews From Senior Stars

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