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Four-time Super Bowl champion tight end Rob Gronkowski is among several notable names that will become eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the first time in 2027.
The first-ballot class for next year's Hall of Fame will include Gronkowski, running back Adrian Peterson and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as none of those players have played since the 2021 season. Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, offensive tackle Willie Anderson and guard Marshal Yanda will automatically be included on the finalists ballot next year as they were already finalists for the 2026 class, which was announced during the NFL Honors award show Thursday (February 5) night.
Gronkowski's longtime former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft will also be in consideration for the Hall of Fame after being snubbed from this year's class. The tight end ranks third all-time among his position in career touchdown receptions (92), sixth in receiving yards (9,286) and 10th in receptions (621), having won three Super Bowls with the Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Peterson ranks fifth all-time in career rushing yards with 14,918, which included bouncing back from a torn ACL to break the 2,000-yard rushing plateau and win the Associated Press Most Valuable Player award in 2012. The former Oklahoma University standout spent the majority of his career with the Minnesota Vikings (2007-2016) and had later stints with the New Orleans Saints (2017), Arizona Cardinals (2017), the now-Washington Commanders (2018-19), Detroit Lions (2020), Tennessee Titans (2021) and Seattle Seahawks (2021).
Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl champion, spent his entire 18-year NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, holding every franchise passing record with 64,088 yards, 418 touchdowns and 211 interceptions on 5,440 of 8,443 passing and a 165-81-1 record in 247 regular season starts, as well as a 13-10 playoff record, one win shy of Pro Football Hall of Famer and four-time Super Bowl champion Terry Bradshaw's 14-5 postseason record.