Seven new members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame were enshrined on Saturday to conclude the most esteemed week on the NFL calendar, as fans, media and the greatest of the greats came out to honor the newest class of football's immortals.
Here are highlights from the Class of 2024's speeches and enshrinements:
Andre Johnson
Julius Peppers
Patrick Willis
"Monday Night Football, Oct. 13, 2014. I still remember the last play of my NFL career and what I heard inside me. I heard, 'Job well done, my son, my faithful and loyal servant.' In that moment, I realized I had completed what I had come to do, with the time the Lord had allotted me to play in the National Football League. It's not necessarily how long you played, but how impactful you are."
"Now I'll take you back to the beginning, 1996. My football journey actually began way before that, but we'll start here. The following is my manifesto. I'm in the sixth grade, it's football season, and it's game day. I wouldn't have time to take the bus home and change and everything. So I stayed after school in the library, sometimes I would watch NFL classic hits, because I wanted to be a professional football player. So I watched those hits, thinking if I could hit someone like that, that's how I get to the NFL. Several weeks later, I was looking around and found a tape that said 'Walter Payton, autobiography,' one of the greats. I put it in and saw many players speak about Walter Payton. I was in awe. Walter Payton was a real life superhero and my first football role model. He came from a place similar to mine and grew up like I did, surrounded by cornfields and woodlands. In the biography, legendary players Jerry Rice, Roger Craig, Mike Singletary all speak about this thing they called work ethic. And I said, 'Wait, if this is what it takes to get there, Pops instilled this work ethic in me since I was a little boy. I've got that.' ..."
"It's 2008, it's my second season, when the team captains for the 49ers walked out on the field, I looked to my right, my left, and right behind me. To my right was Jerry Rice, to my left, Roger Craig, and right behind me Mike Singletary. All three of them were in the autobiography that I had watched in the sixth grade, and here I was now on the field with them. That was a real moment. Coach Singletary, when he put the gold jacket on me last night, it wasn't simply given to me by my former position coach. It was given to me by a leader who taught me linebacker fundamentals and life fundamentals. I can hear you now, Coach, 'Pat, you're too high, son, get long.' Or telling the team, 'Nothing good comes after 10 p.m.' Thank you, Coach, for teaching me what it takes to be a champion on the field and off."
"To the 49ers organization and the Faithful, my draft day prayer was to go to a team and give the organization, city, and fans my best. Thank you for taking a chance on drafting a linebacker out of Ole Miss who hadn't won a lot of games, but still played each game as if it was his last chance."
"Today I stand before you with the heartfelt thank you to everyone who has played a part in my journey to Canton. When I say it takes a village, it truly does. To the many of you who offered a helping hand, thank you. To my family, friends, teammates, teachers, mentors, doctors, equipment managers, trainers and everyone else, you know who you are, thank you for always being there for me and with me. Because of all of you I stand here today honored to be wearing this gold jacket, standing shoulder to shoulder with the great ones in the National Football League. I am elated to now know that I will not be simply known as Patrick Willis, but as Hall of Famer, Patrick Willis, Mr. 378."
"I salute my high school, college, and NFL brothers. Now, what a privilege it is to stand with my Hall of Fame brothers in the hall of football immortality."
Devin Hester
"I want to thank the Hall of Fame for making me the first returner to ever wear this gold jacket, and I want to congratulate everyone in the 2024 class for being here. I'm proud and honored to be up here with you guys. I fell in love with football back when I first started playing two-hand touch in the street. And as kids, we couldn't kick the ball that far, so we would throw it off high and make it look like a kickoff. And every time they would throw the ball off high, out of 10 times, I would take about seven of them back."
"I felt like football chose me, from Pop Warner, to high school, to college, to the NFL, the first play of every game I always did something special. My first carry in high school football, I took a 22-yard handoff for a touchdown. And when I got to college, on the first play of a game, I took a 97-yard kickoff return back for a touchdown against the Florida Gators. Every glimpse of me trying to go to the next level, it'd always happen on the first play. It was a sign to let me know that football was meant for me. I love this game more than I could say, and more so, it loved me back."
"When I started on the professional scene, there was a lot of negativity because people didn't respect the return game. But eventually, they put in this new rule, which is called, you guys know, the Devin Hester rule. The rule moved the kickoff up and made it easier for the kickers to kick it out of the end zone, which eliminated me from getting a lot of returns. So I guess you could say, the NFL started taking the return game seriously."
"I hope me being here today opens up the doors and brings some attention to other guys like Brian Mitchell and Josh Cribbs because I'm not the only returner who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, I'm just the first."
"I want to say a few words to the young players out there … who may be undecided about what position you want to play in football, or in life. Sometimes we get stuck in our own ways, wanting to be a quarterback, a running back or a wide receiver. But you have to leave your options open, because God's plan might be better for you. I wanted to be a running back, but God's plan wasn't that for me. Sure, I might have been the 178th best running back in the world, or the 297th-best wide receiver in the world, but instead, I embraced God's plan for me. And mostly, I accepted it, I accepted my calling. I accepted my calling that God had in store for me. And by me embracing it, it made me the best returner to ever walk the face of the earth. At least, as of right now."
"So again, thank you to everyone who helped me get this far, and congratulations to all the guys up here who made it to the 2024 Hall of Fame. I'll be looking to see what the Hall of Fame does next year, because we, this class of 2024, are tough to beat. Thank you."
Randy Gradishar
"To the Broncos and Broncos Country, I would not be standing here without you, because the best franchise and the best fans in the NFL are the Broncos. And I want to thank Greg and Carrie Penner and Mr. Walton, the ownership of the Broncos, for what you've done for me, and for all of the Bronco alumni that are there today. …"
"… Any Broncos fans? Thank you, you're the best. My Broncos head coach John Ralston impacted my life. During my senior year at Ohio State I sustained a knee injury, and I had surgery, and it was somewhat successful. And I knew, and others knew, that my knee would never be the same for sure. But coach Ralston took a chance on me and drafted me back in 1974. The rest is history. Broncos coaches Red Miller, Dan Reeves, Stan Jones, Joe Collier and Myrel Moore believed in me and encouraged me. That encouragement was the greatest gift those coaches would give to me, and to our team, encouraging us to give our best, and that would be our motivator to be the best that we could be."
"And Myrel Moore is here today, my linebackers coach. I want to say thank you for being here and for the investment you made in us for our skill set, so we would be different, we would have a different skill set in winning and learning, we would be mentally prepared for each and every game. Our mental toughness was our success for what we did with that Orange Crush defense."
"Our late, great, Orange Crush defensive coordinator Joe Collier passed away a few months ago. Joe wasn't just a great coach, he was one of the leaders and mentors that any NFL player would really want to have on their side. So I want to thank Lyle and Paul and Joe and Patrick and Louis and Steve and Randy and John and Carl. I want to thank you guys and some of the other guys on our team for what we became. Because we were always the Orange Crush defense. We were an explosive, dominant, winning force because coach Joe Collier was one of the best for us, and in turn, he got the best from us. So Joe Collier's legacy -- loyal, commitment, humility, quiet strength and encouragement -- made lifelong differences in many athletes of our lives."
Steve McMichael
McMichael, as read by his sister Kathy: "Hey Chicago, Bears fans and Mongo fans. Woo hoo! I'm in the Hall of Fame, baby! I want to thank the Hall of Fame, the Senior selection committee, the Chicago Bears and all the fans, the best fans in the world and the best city to play football in. I played 15 years in the NFL and loved every minute of every down. I played with the greatest players in the NFL and the greatest defense to this day, baby. I want to thank all my teammates. It's an honor to join my teammates Walter Payton, Richard Dent, Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton, Jimbo Covert, coach (Mike) Ditka, coach (Buddy) Ryan and all the Bears before us. I'd like to say a special thank you to my pseudo-son Jarrett Payton for introducing me. I want to thank my family, my father Mac, my brother Richard, my sisters Sharon and Katherine Denise. To my wife Misty, thank you for giving me my beautiful daughter Macy. To Macy, you'll always be my little girl. Daddy loves you. And finally, to my mother, we made it, momma! Your baby made it! Bear down and hook 'em!"
Dwight Freeney
"To my Hall of Fame teammates, I learned so much from you guys. Peyton Manning, I watched how you prepared day in and day out so you could be your best. That taught me the importance of preparation, so that I was never surprised by my opponent. Marvin Harrison, I watched you practice full speed every day, which taught me that practice was a place to master my craft. You made every route look the same, which helped me be a better pass rusher, try to make all my moves look the same. Edgerrin James, you taught me how to be a true pro on and off the field. You're a great teammate, and a pretty good roommate before the games, even though you wouldn't let me adjust the temperature above 59 degrees, man. I'll never forget that."
"To the big, blue nation, the Indianapolis Colts fans, you guys are the best fans in the National Football League, you made every game memorable, thank you for your support and being a part of our team."
"I also want to thank those that paved the way for me, that happily and intentionally used quarterbacks to soften their fall while they took them out. Jason Taylor, Michael Strahan, John Randale, Richard Dent, Ricky Jackson, Warren Sapp, Bruce Smith and Lawrence Taylor, who every Sunday I used to run to the TV at 1 p.m. to watch destroy another one of his opponents. I am honored and humbled to be on the same team as you guys. Thank you."
"I also want to thank this great game of football, for giving me the opportunity to express myself and my creativity to the world. I always felt like I was an artist, and the football field was my canvas. And I was forever grateful for that feeling."
"One of the things that motivated me was never being completely satisfied with myself or my performance. It's what drove me to continue to improve my skill set and my mission to perfect my craft and try to dominate every single Sunday. I realized, in order to win the battles on the field, I had to win the battles internally with myself. I had to keep pushing myself not to be complacent or lazy, not to use excuses and just make it happen."
"So if you're a young aspiring future NFL player, let me say this: Football is not an easy game. It can seem like an impossible journey. But always remember that your hard work and sacrifice are the keys to opening the door to your dreams. People will call you too slow, too short, not tough enough, not strong enough. Use those words as fuel to ignite the internal fire that will motivate you and push you to places that you never thought were possible. All those bumps and bruises that make you want to quit, fighting through that will make you into a better player and a better person. So I hope you guys can look at my journey and what I went through, and know that it's possible to become who you want to be.
And lastly, let me close with a verse from Jeremiah 19:11 that means a lot to me: 'For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.' Thank you God for giving me that future, and God bless you all."
