The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its biggest overhaul of the selection process in the 63-year history of the institution Friday when it halved the voting membership to 25 selectors and discontinued the senior players category.
All players are now in a pool that is whittled to 13 before the selectors meet in person early next year. Sub-committees are still charged with selecting a coach nominee and contributor nominee for a finals slate of 15. At the final meeting, that field is cut to 10, then to seven, and then selectors vote for six with those getting 80% (20 of 25) getting in.
Since COVID, the Hall has conducted that final meeting virtually. With the in-person meeting back on, the room is smaller with the Hall no longer having a board with each NFL franchise represented by a media member or team media member.
During that stretch, the Bengals, who have the fewest career players in the Hall with two, saw right tackle Willie Anderson make it to the last five finals as a modern-era player, as well as fellow Bengals Ring of Honor members Ken Riley and Ken Anderson make it to the finals in the now defunct senior category. once each. Riley was inducted in 2023 while the Andersons wait.
Bengals.com has been a Hall voter since 2016. The board of 25 voters (along with three non-voting participants) are to be determined annually. The 2027 board of selectors has yet to be announced.
In the past, when a finalist from that team was presented, the voter from that market made the five-minute presentation before debate ensued. Now one person not on the committee makes all 15 presentations.
In the Hall's press release, president Jim Porter said the new rules are directed at preventing "unintended biases," and that the smaller committee at an in-person meeting makes for "robust, thoughtful dialogue and debate around the candidates being discussed."
The Hall also announced that the one-year carryover has been eliminated. Willie Anderson won't reach the 2027 finals automatically, according to the by-laws.
He automatically reached the 2026 finals when he made the final seven in 2025. He also reached the final seven in '26, but the by-laws state that each candidate gets only one automatic berth. Since Terrell Suggs and Marshal Yanda made the final seven in 2026 for the first time, they are "grandfathered," into the '27 finals.
