Saturday was showtime in Canton, Ohio, as the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s five inductees saw their busts for the first time.In front of a packed house at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Adam Vinatieri, Luke Kuechly and Roger Craig all had a chance to say thank you to those who helped them achieve the ultimate goal of wearing a gold jacket, which they all received at the annual dinner on Friday night. Here are some highlights from the big day for the five players, who bring the total to 387 busts in Canton.1.Payton, the former New Orleans Saints and current Denver Broncos head coach, had to hold back tears while talking about what Brees meant to him during his introductory remarks. “We were better coaches when he was our starting quarterback,” said Payton, who presented Brees. “We were a better team when he was our leader. Drew, it has been an honor to have a front-row seat watching you play quarterback for the Saints at such a high level.”You made my job easy, and all of us are better for having been a part of this with you.” Drew Brees speaks during the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images) Brees closed out the five presentations with an entertaining, heartfelt and emotional speech. It paid tribute to an ultra-competitive family that pushed him to reach his potential, as well as the bumps along the road he had to hurdle to become better at his craft.”I don’t take for granted that I got to play the most coveted position of all of sports,” Brees said. “From as far back as I could remember, I wanted to play quarterback. I never saw the position as pressure, but rather one of great responsibility.””The quarterback is the distributor of hope and confidence, a master of probability,” he added. “The ultimate problem solver. I’ve always seen the game of football and quarterback as a true art form, as a song or a dance. The key to the art form was controlling the rhythm of the game.” 2.A former Minnesota Vikings ball boy back when receivers Randy Moss and Cris Carter lit up the scoreboard in the 1990s for head coach Dennis Green, Fitzgerald followed in their footsteps by earning a gold jacket. He is one of the best receivers in NFL history, having been drafted by Green, ironically, when he took over as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Fitzgerald said he didn’t glean anything from Moss as a player because he could do so many things that others couldn’t do on the field….
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2026-08-09 01:30:52
