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Pro Football Hall of Fame voters with Tony Dungy, Bill Polian out

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When the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced major changes to its selection process on Sept. 4, one of the biggest adjustments was shrinking the voting list.

The revised bylaws halved the voting body from 50 members to 25, plus three non-voting members to make up a 28-person selection committee. The Hall of Fame also said it was doing away with team designations that were previously assigned to 32 voters in favor of 27 at-large selectors and one Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA) representative.

More than two weeks later, the hall finally revealed which voters made the cut on and will select the 2027 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, with some notable names left off the list and others joining.

Full list of 2027 Pro Football Hall of Fame voters

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the following voters for the 2027 class in a press release on Thursday, Sept. 17, saying voters are “charged with the vital task of continuing to be sure that new enshrinees are the finest the game has produced.”

  • Jared Allen, Hall of Famer
  • Howard Balzer, CardsWire; SiriusXM NFL Radio
  • Jarrett Bell, USA Today
  • Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press
  • Vic Carucci, WGRZ-TV
  • Mike Chappell, CBS4/FOX59TV
  • Pete Dougherty, Green Bay Press-Gazette
  • Jeff Duncan, Times-Picayune
  • Dan Fouts, Broadcaster, Hall of Famer
  • Scott Garceau, 105.7 The Fan/WMAR-TV
  • Bob Glauber, author
  • Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star
  • Nicki Jhabvala, Pro Football Writers of America
  • Lindsay Jones, The Ringer
  • Ira Kaufman, JoeBucsFan.com
  • Ross Ketover, NFL Films
  • Sam Kouvaris, SamSportsLine.com
  • Jeff Legwold, ESPN/ESPN.com
  • Rob Maaddi, Associated Press
  • Gary Myers, Author
  • Sal Paolantonio, Senior National Correspondent, ESPN
  • Dan Pompei, The Athletic
  • Mike Sando, The Athletic
  • Will Shields, Hall of Famer
  • Jim Trotter, retired, The Athletic & NFL Network
  • Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News
  • Charean Williams, Pro Football Talk
  • Eric Williams, FOX Sports

Allen, Glauber, Jhabvala, Maaddi and Shields are all new to the list.

Tony Dungy, Lisa Salters among Hall of Fame voters cut

Former NFL player and longtime coach Tony Dungy, sideline reporter and broadcaster Lisa Salters and former general manager Bill Polian were among the dropped voters.

Here is the full list of people who voted for the 2026 class who will not have a vote in 2027.

  • Kent Somers, retired, Arizona Republic
  • Darryl Ledbetter, formerly of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
  • Darin Gantt, Carolina Panthers
  • Cincinnati: Geoff Hobson, Bengals.com
  • Cleveland: Tony Grossi, ESPNCleveland.com/WKNR Radio
  • Dallas: Rick Gosselin, Talk of Fame Network
  • Houston: John McClain, SportsRadio610
  • Las Vegas: Paul Gutierrez, Raiders.com
  • Miami: Armando Salguero, Outkick.com
  • Minnesota: Mark Craig, Minneapolis Star Tribune
  • New England: Ron Borges, Talk of Fame Network
  • New York (Jets): Rich Cimini, ESPN.com
  • Philadelphia: Paul Domowitch, the33rdteam.com/PhillyMag.com
  • Pittsburgh: Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  • San Francisco: Matt Maiocco, NBC Sports Bay Area
  • Tennessee: Paul Kuharsky, PaulKuharsky.com
  • Joel Bussert, retired, NFL Office
  • Mary Cay Cabot, Cleveland Plain Dealer
  • Jason Cole, FanSided.com
  • Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange
  • Tony Dungy, formerly NBC Sports “Football Night in America”
  • Clark Judge, Talk of Fame Network
  • James Lofton, CBS Sports
  • Alex Marvez, SiriusXM NFL Radio
  • Bill Polian, SiriusXM NFL Radio
  • Lisa Salters, ESPN “Monday Night Football”
  • Barry Wilner, retired, Associated Press

Bill Belichick controversy

The voting process came under fire following the 2026 election, which resulted in former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick missing the cut in his first year of eligibility.

After the public backlash for leaving out the second-winningest coach in NFL history, and arguably the most successful coach given his postseason resume, some electors called for rule changes, particularly related to the “seniors” designation given to players who had been retired for more than 25 years.

Last year, Belichick, Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former players Roger Craig, L.C. Greenwood and Ken Anderson – the “senior” players – all were grouped together. Voters could only choose three of the five instead of an up-and-down vote on all five.

“In the end, though, I felt more compelled by what I perceive to be last chances and looming lost causes within the system as we have it – a system I hope the Hall will see fit to change now,” wrote Gregorian, who admitted to not voting for Belichick because he wanted to make sure Craig, Greenwood and Anderson all had a shot.

That designation was removed in the hall’s sweeping changes, with all player candidates now remaining in the same pool without an expiration on their eligibility.

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