As part of the NFL's 100th-anniversary celebration, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is considering expanding its Centennial Class for 2020.
Hall of Fame president and CEO David Baker told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Monday that the board would consider 20 enshrinees as opposed to the normal eight per year.
"It is extremely elite company, and it's not the Hall of very, very good. It's the Hall of Fame, and so it should be difficult to make it," Baker said. "But there's a lot of guys through the years (who deserve to be honored but have not). We have several guys who are on all-decade teams who aren't in the Hall of Fame. And, so, this is an opportunity with the Centennial coming up. And what we've looked at potentially and has been approved, at least in concept, by our operating board, but we're going to have to go through the full board, is that potentially we would have 20 Hall of Famers enshrined for the year 2020.
"Normally, (like) this year, we have eight. So, this would be quite a few guys (added). But it would be the five normal modern-era players elected from 15 finalists, and then 10 seniors, three contributors -- like Gil (Brandt) -- and two (coaches). But again, I want to stress that that's got to be something that's passed by our board at its meeting on Friday, Aug. 2."
The move to increase the number of senior entries would significantly reduce the log-jam that currently resides for former players and influencers of the game who have yet to receive the honor but are deserving of recognition for their efforts in growing America's most popular sport.
The Hall of Fame board will ultimately decide whether to approve the one-year increase during the August meeting. From an outsiders' perspective, you'd be hard-pressed to find a concrete argument against celebrating those who help build the sport during the Centennial.
