Brees, Fitzgerald and Kuechly headline emotional Hall of Fame night in Canton

The Pro Football Hall of Fame welcomed its 2026 class in Canton, Ohio, with Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald and Luke Kuechly among the headline names finally getting their bronze busts and gold jackets.

Brees, the Saints' all-time great and Super Bowl XLIV winner, was inducted alongside longtime Cardinals receiver Fitzgerald, one of the most prolific pass catchers the league has ever seen, and former Panthers linebacker Kuechly, whose career was cut short by concussions but whose peak play put him among the best defenders of his generation. Both the Saints' and Cardinals' official sites made a point of covering their franchise legends' big night, underlining just how significant these enshrinements are to their respective fanbases.

The ceremony had a heavier moment too: 49ers great Roger Craig used his speech to reveal he has been diagnosed with vascular dementia, a stark and emotional reminder of the toll the sport can take on its biggest stars, and it has understandably dominated a lot of the reaction to the night.

Elsewhere, coverage has focused on the wider spectacle: NFL.com, CBS Sports, FOX Sports and Yahoo all ran through takeaways, key speeches and how to watch, while attention is already turning to who might follow this class into Canton in 2027. There's also been scrutiny of the NFL-backed effort to regenerate the host city itself, with a New York Times piece questioning how far Canton's redevelopment plans have actually come.

For now though, the story is a celebratory one: three era-defining players, an emotional Craig revelation, and a league pausing its build-up to the new season to honour the players who shaped it. Training camps continue around the league, but for one night, Canton was the centre of the NFL world.