Pro Football Hall of Fame expected to change voting procedure following Bill Belichick snub

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is expected to change its voting procedure in the wake of former New England Patriots Bill Belichick’s snub from the most recent class, NFL Network Senior National Columnist Judy Battista reported on Sunday.

Among the potential changes as outlined by Battista: reducing the size of the 50-person committee, changing the makeup of membership to include more non-media members such as historians and former general managers, reducing the number of modern era player finalists (currently 15) and making the votes public.

Battista also reported that the committee will return to in-person voting, after going to virtual meetings following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“[Pro Football Hall of Fame president Jim] Porter wants to make sure the voters are selecting the absolute best candidates who are on the ballot this season,” Battista reported on NFL GameDay Morning.

ESPN initially reported on Jan. 27 that Belichick, who won six Super Bowls as head coach of the Patriots, would not be part of the Class of 2026 on his first appearance on the ballot. The news prompted swift and robust criticism throughout the sport and shined a light on the voting process for coach, contributor and senior finalists.

Instead of an up-or-down vote on each of the five finalists, voters chose three of the five with the leading vote-getter and anyone else above 80% getting into the Hall.

Former 49ers running back Roger Craig was the lone coach/contributor/senior finalist to receive the necessary votes to make the Hall of Fame, joining Larry Fitzgerald, Drew Brees, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri in the Class of 2026 announced on Thursday.