Hall of Fame will return to in-person selection meetings

Whether and to what extent the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s selection process changes in the aftermath of the Bill Belichick snub remains to be seen. For now, however, the Hall of Fame will be making a pair of important procedural tweaks.

In a Friday phone conversation with PFT, Hall of Fame President & CEO Jim Porter said the annual selection meeting will happen on an in-person basis in 2027. During the COVID pandemic, the meeting switched to a virtual gathering of voters. It has remained that way.

He also said the selection meeting and final voting will occur closer in time to the announcement of the annual class of Hall of Famers. This year, the meeting and voting were held on January 13.

Porter initially made these disclosures in a Thursday night interview with Josh Dubow of the Associated Press.

Ideally, the annual selection meeting will happen early in Super Bowl week, when most if not all of the voters will already be present in the host city. Then, the new Hall of Famers can be revealed during the NFL Honors ceremony, on Thursday night.

If nothing else, a tighter timeline will limit the opportunity for leaks. Beyond that, the in-person discussion and debate could be more meaningful and efficient than an all-day Zoom call with 50 different voters participating.

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