AP Sources: NFL Cancels Hall Of Fame Game, Delays Inductions
Jun 25, 2020, 9:15 AM | Updated: 9:16 am
CANTON, OH - AUGUST 07: A vendor sells programs as fans of the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts make their way in prior to the NFL Hall of Fame Game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on August 7, 2016 in Canton, Ohio. The game was cancelled due to poor field conditions. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
AP – The NFL has canceled the Hall of Fame game that traditionally opens the preseason and is delaying the 2020 induction ceremonies because of the coronavirus pandemic, two people with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been publicly announced, though an announcement is expected later Thursday. ESPN first reported the Hall of Fame game cancellation.
The Cowboys and Steelers, who were scheduled to play in this year’s preseason opener, now are expected to play in the 2021 Hall of Fame game next summer, per sources. The HOF enshrinement ceremony also is expected to be held then.https://t.co/1dGl2DX2iq
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 25, 2020
The Aug. 6 exhibition game between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers is the first on-field event the league has canceled during the pandemic. The league was able to conduct free agency, the draft and several owners meetings remotely, and it recently began reopening team facilities that were shut in late March, albeit on a limited basis.
Ten men were scheduled to be enshrined in the Canton, Ohio, hall on Aug. 8; the hall has an increased class of 20 this year in commemoration of the NFL’s centennial. No date has been set for when any inductions will occur, the people said.
Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, NFL Films co-founder Steve Sabol, former New York Giants executive George Young, former coaches Jimmy Johnson and Bill Cowher, and former players Troy Polamalu, Steve Hutchinson, Edgerrin James, Isaac Bruce and Steve Atwater were to be inducted in August.
