HOF 2026 Class: Five Roads to Canton

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CANTON — Five great men received their sport’s highest individual honor here Saturday as the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 was enshrined.

The Class: Fullback Roger Craig, quarterback Drew Brees, receiver Larry Fitzgerald, linebacker Luke Kuechly and kicker Adam Vinatieri arrived here by markedly different routes, but their speeches repeatedly returned to the people who traveled those roads with them.

What they said was less about what they accomplished and more about who helped them accomplish it — and, in Craig’s case, the complicated price that can accompany the journey.

Craig, 66, revealed in a pre-recorded speech that he is navigating a vascular dementia diagnosis that he said doctors believe may be related, at least in part, to concussions suffered during his 11 NFL seasons.

“Two things can be true,” Craig said. “Football gave me opportunities beyond anything I can imagine. It helped shape the man I became. At the same time, we know more today about brain health than when I played.”

Fitzgerald, one of the most accomplished receivers in NFL history, spent much of his speech looking backward at the people who shaped him. He thanked the Bidwill family, Dennis Green, Cris Carter, Randy Moss and Kurt Warner, then turned to his parents and three sons.

His final message was less about football than life.

“Surround yourself with people who tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear,” Fitzgerald told his sons. “Those are the people who actually love you.”

Then came the line that could have served as a theme for the entire afternoon.

“It’s not the likes. It’s not the follows. It’s not the fame, but the people you travel with, the values you uphold. In the end, it’s not just about excellence. It’s about the people who you helped get there.”

Vinatieri, whose 24-year career included some of the most famous kicks in league history, arrived at much the same place.

Throughout his career he carried titles such as Mr. Clutch, Automatic Adam and The Iceman. On Saturday, he said his favorite title was dad.

“Football is temporary. Family is forever,” Vinatieri said.

He thanked his parents for lessons in hard work, humility, accountability and perseverance, his wife Valerie for absorbing the sacrifices demanded by his career, and the Patriots and Colts organizations for the opportunities that shaped it.

“The legacy that you leave on this earth is temporary,” he said. “The impact that you leave on people you love lasts forever. That’s the legacy that I care the most about.”

Kuechly’s career was far shorter, but his message was similar.

The former Carolina Panthers linebacker, a five-time first-team All-Pro and 2013 Defensive Player of the Year, said what he misses most about football is not a particular game or play.

It is the locker room.

“The conversations that have nothing to do with sports,” Kuechly said. “It’s celebrating together after wins and hurting together after losses.”

He thanked his parents, his family, the Panthers organization and the fans in Carolina, then summed up what football had given him.

“There’s no way to measure what the game of football has given to me,” he said. “The joy it’s provided and, more than anything, the people I have been so blessed to be around as a result of this game.”

Brees closed the ceremony with another version of the same story.

He spoke about his parents, the San Diego Chargers, New Orleans, Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis, his wife Brittany and the teammates who shared a 20-year NFL journey.

He reflected on the responsibility of playing quarterback and on the bond between the Saints and New Orleans, particularly through the years following Hurricane Katrina.

But after two decades, more than 80,000 passing yards and a Super Bowl championship, Brees said what kept pulling him back was simpler.

“You want to know what it really was?” Brees said. “It was for the love of my teammates.”

He called those teammates the “golden threads” of his Hall of Fame jacket.

Then there was Craig.

The oldest member of the 2026 Class, Craig was elected as a Senior candidate 33 years after he last played.

His remarks were delivered by video, and for much of the speech Craig followed the same path as the others.

He talked about his parents in Davenport, Iowa. His father Elijah, who died of lung cancer before seeing his son play at Nebraska or in the NFL. His mother, who raised seven children while working nights. Bill Walsh, who saw a complete football player where others saw only a running back. His teammates on the great San Francisco 49ers teams. His wife, children and grandchildren.

Craig remembered becoming the first player in NFL history to surpass 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season, but even that accomplishment was framed through the team.

“We weren’t chasing numbers,” Craig said. “We were chasing Ws, wins.”

Craig said the changes in his health were gradual, initially easy to dismiss as normal aging, until his family noticed them too and they sought answers from doctors.

He hoped sharing his diagnosis would encourage former players and families to pay attention when something feels wrong.

“I want people to know this diagnosis doesn’t define me,” he said. “I am still Roger Craig. I am still a father, a husband, a teammate, a friend and someone who loves this game and the people it brought into my life.”

If the revelation changed the tone of the afternoon, Craig would not allow it to redefine the journey.

“Football gave me everything,” he said. “Opportunity, discipline, lifelong friends and a platform to grow as a man.”

Five new bronze busts now reside in Canton, monuments to touchdowns, tackles, receptions, kicks, championships and records.

Saturday, the men represented by those busts talked mostly about something else.

Parents. Wives. Children. Coaches. Teammates. Fans. Cities. Locker rooms.

The people who traveled with them.

Roger Craig reminded everyone that even the greatest journeys can exact a price.

Then he called his a blessing.